Luxembourg - Maternity and paternity benefits

This chapter tells you everything you need to know about claiming maternity and paternity benefits.

If you have worked and paid social security contributions in another country of the European Union, the corresponding periods may be taken into account to determine your right to maternity and paternity benefits in Luxembourg.

In what situation can I claim?

Maternity and health insurance covers the necessary care during pregnancy and birth. It provides a maternity grant to replace your work income during maternity leave and adoption leave.

What conditions do I need to meet?

To enable services such as consultations, visits, treatment, medical services and healthcare to be reimbursed by the health insurance fund, they must be:

provided by service providers which have signed an agreement with the National Health Fund (Caisse Nationale de Santé - CNS);
be included in the statutes of the CNS;
be listed in a breakdown of treatments or a list of tariffs.

As a salaried employee or a self-employed person, and to gain access to maternity benefit during prenatal and postnatal leave periods, you must be able to demonstrate at least 6 months affiliation with maternity and health insurance over the 12 months prior to the beginning of your leave. The same affiliation period is required to benefit from adoption leave.

The leave request is submitted to CNS through a medical certificate giving the expected date of birth, to establish the last twelve weeks of pregnancy.

A copy of the birth certificate of the newborn infant should be sent to the CNS.

What am I entitled to and how can I claim?

Benefits in kind

At the time of the birth, insured persons are entitled to the services of a midwife, medical assistance, a stay in a maternity centre or clinic, and pharmaceutical supplies.

Duration of leave and cash benefits

The leave period is equal to 8 weeks prior to the forecast date of birth and a maximum of 12 weeks after.

Women who work in jobs which are hazardous to their health or to the health of the newborn infant may be relieved of their position if allocation to another position within the same company is not possible.

Insured persons have the right to maternity benefits during prenatal and postnatal leave and while they are exempted from work. In principle, the amount of the benefits is identical to that for sickness benefit (100% of the previous salary), without exceeding 5 times the social minimum wage. These benefits are paid by the CNS and may not be accumulated with either sickness benefits or any other wage.

Allowance for adoption leave (allocation pour congé d’accueil) (adopting a child)

In the event of the adoption of a child who has not yet been admitted for his/her first year of primary education, a leave period of 12 weeks is granted to one of the parents. If both parents fulfil the conditions to obtain the leave, they decide by mutual consent who will apply for it. Adoption leave gives rise to a payment of a benefit for the duration of the leave period, paid by the CNS. The amount is in principle the same as the sickness benefit (100% of previous salary) without exceeding 5 times the social minimum wage. This benefit may not be cumulated with sickness benefits or with any income from employment.

Jargon busters

Caisse nationale de santé (CNS): Health insurance fund for all employees in the private sector, salaried employees and the self-employed.
Minimum wage: the minimum salary which employers are required to pay their employees. The salaries, pay and social security benefits (except for family benefits), including the minimum wage, are indexed to changes in the cost of living.
Service providers: doctors, dentists, pharmacists, nurses, midwives, physiotherapists, opticians, speech therapists, orthopaedists, rehabilitation specialists, laboratories, spas, convalescence centres, patient transportation services. All service providers are linked to the CNS by agreement and must respect the tariffs.
Tariffs: prices for treatment and services negotiated between the representative associations of the service providers and the CNS, entered into the official lists and descriptions.

Know your rights

The links below provide a legal definition of your rights. They are not European Commission websites and they do not represent the views of the Commission:

Commission publications and websites: