On Friday 24 July 2026, Luxembourg’s Labour and Mines Inspectorate (ITM) announced details of the arrangements for the summer collective leave period for construction and civil engineering companies in the Grand Duchy.

The summer collective leave period for construction and civil engineering companies in 2026 runs from Friday 31 July 2026 to Sunday 23 August 2026 inclusive.

Certain works may qualify for an exemption from the collective leave period for the construction and civil engineering sector, namely works carried out in schools, in factories during production shutdowns or urgent works recognised by the ad hoc commission for construction and civil engineering.

This ad hoc commission is solely responsible for granting related exemptions and consists of two members representing the contracting trade unions, two members representing employers and one member representing the Labour and Mines Inspectorate (ITM).

As of Thursday 23 July, the number of exemption requests submitted via the form available from the ITM stood at 212. These requests concern repair work in schools and secondary schools, repair or conversion work in factories, and urgent works carried out as part of network maintenance arrangements, for example for municipalities.

160 of these requests concern construction and civil engineering companies. The ad hoc commission for construction and civil engineering issued 147 approvals and 13 refusals. Ten requests concern sanitary installation, heating, air-conditioning and refrigeration companies.

However, neither the Labour and Mines Inspectorate nor the ad hoc commission for construction and civil engineering is responsible for granting exemptions to these companies.

In addition, the ITM received 42 requests from companies that fall neither within the construction and civil engineering sector nor within the sanitary installation, heating and air-conditioning sector and are therefore not subject to mandatory collective leave.

These companies operate in the fields of metal joinery, industrial technologies, modular construction, asbestos removal and interior fitting.

The approximate number of employees affected by collective leave in the construction and civil engineering sector, based on the approved requests submitted, amounts to around 750 employees.

The ITM reported that inspections by the Labour and Mines Inspectorate, the Customs and Excise Agency and the Grand Ducal Police will take place this summer. These supervisory authorities may at any time stop work carried out by companies that do not have an authorisation issued by the ad hoc commission for construction and civil engineering.

The ITM highlighted that the summer collective leave period for sanitary installation, heating and air-conditioning companies in 2026 runs from Monday 3 August 2026 to Sunday 23 August 2026 inclusive.

An exemption from this collective leave period is only possible with the agreement of the staff delegation and the employees concerned, and only for troubleshooting, maintenance and repair work.

The applicable arrangements for mandatory collective leave are set out in the relevant collective labour agreements, which can be viewed at: https://itm.public.lu/fr/questions-reponses/droit-travail/conges/h.html