New legal regulations in case of incapacity to work
As of January 1st, 2019, new legal regulations will come into force with regard to the period of coverage in case of incapacity to work due to accident and illness :
The law of August 10th, 2018 extends the duration of coverage from currently 52 weeks to 78 weeks. However, the reference period of 104 weeks remains unchanged.
The automatic termination of the employee’s employment contract is also postponed as a result.
The reference period for continued pay by the employer will also be adjusted from the current 12 months to 18 months as from January 1st, 2019: During this period the employer must continue to pay the salaries of an employee on sick leave until the end of the month during which the 77th day of sick leave occurs.
The new law allows the possibility of a gradual return to work for therapeutic reasons: To this end, the employee submits an application to the National Health Fund (CNS) on the basis of a medical certificate from his attending physician and with the consent of his employer. However, the condition is that the insured was unable to work for at least 1 month in the 3 months prior to application!
In contrast to the current therapeutic half-time work, the future gradual return to work for therapeutic reasons is treated as a period of incapacity for work and recorded as such. The insured continues to receive sickness allowance during this period and is also covered by the accident insurance (AAA).
Further information on the new law can be found in the following links:
http://legilux.public.lu/eli/etat/leg/loi/2018/08/10/a703/jo
https://www.csl.lu/bibliotheque/newsletters/8620b08434.pdf