Employer Mutuality
The Employer Mutuality (Mutualité des Employeurs) is the Luxembourg social security institution designed to support businesses in covering the costs associated with employees’ sick leave. It enables the pooling of part of the financial risk associated with the continued payment of wages in the event of incapacity for work.
Governance
The Mutualité des Employeurs is managed by a board of directors chaired by the Secretary-General of the UEL.
This board comprises representatives of the employers’ organisations that are members of the UEL, as well as the President of the Joint Social Security Centre, the President of the National Health Fund, a representative of the Luxembourg Federation of Self-Employed Intellectual Workers and a representative of the Chamber of Agriculture.
Mission
The Mutualité des Employeurs aims to protect employers against the financial risk associated with continuing to pay wages when their employees are unable to work due to illness or accident.
This obligation, introduced with the single status for employees, stipulates that the employer must continue to pay the absent employee’s wages until the end of the month in which the 77th day of incapacity for work occurs within a 12-month reference period. This arrangement allows for an average period of continued wage payment of 13 weeks.
Operation and reimbursement
Employers affiliated to the Mutualité des Employeurs pay contributions in order to receive reimbursement of part of the wages paid during this period of absence.
The Mutualité thus reimburses 80% of the wages paid to employees during the period of continued pay, i.e. during the phase when the National Health Fund has not yet become involved.
This mechanism allows the financial risk to be shared collectively among companies and limits the impact of long-term absences on their financial situation.
Self-employed professionals and independent workers may also join on an optional basis to cover themselves against this same risk in their own circumstances.