Homepage > Working conditions > Collective agreements

Transport and logistics

This information is not intended to be exhaustive, and reference should be made to the Collective Agreement for further details.

This document is merely for information, and only the officially published legal texts and Collective Agreement have legal authority.

Period of validity of the Collective Agreement

In force since 1 February 2010 and ends on 31 March 2011.

The provisions shall remain valid after the expiry date of 31 March 2011 until the date on which a new agreement is signed.

Personal and material scope

(Article 2)

Material scope

This Collective Agreement shall apply to all companies whose head office or a branch office thereof is located in the territory of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and which carry out one of the following activities on behalf of third parties:

transport of goods by means of motor vehicles;
removals and industrial removals;
express courier/mail;
storage;
freighting;
logistics.

Personal scope

Applicable to mobile staff, cleaning staff, storepersons, handlers and craftspersons employed under employment contracts in a company whose head office or a branch office thereof is located in the territory of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and which carries out one of the following activities on behalf of third parties:

transport of goods by means of motor vehicles;
removals and industrial removals;
express courier/mail;
storage;
freighting;
logistics.

Remuneration

Principle (Article 12)

Salaries must be paid at the end of the calendar month.

Variable pay elements (allowances for working nights, Sundays, public holidays and overtime) are paid with the basic salary of the month following that in which the services giving entitlement to these supplements were carried out.

Salary increase for drivers who have successfully completed continuing vocational training (Article 31.1.6)

Drivers who have taken the courses and passed a test for continuing vocational training are entitled to a wage supplement of EUR 44.90 (index 702.29) per month. This supplement shall be adjusted in line with changes in the cost of living index.

This supplement is also payable to holders of a foreign certificate for continuing vocational training and recognised as equivalent by the Ministry of National Education.

Prohibition of certain forms of remuneration (Article 28)

Drivers may not be remunerated on the basis of the journey made, mileage, the gross revenue or the quantity of goods transported, except for bonuses which do not compromise compliance with the highway code.

A zero rate corresponding to the statutory minimum wage for qualified workers shall go to drivers in category IV or V during the first 3 months of their employment if they cannot demonstrate actual experience as a professional driver for at least 3 months in the category into which they have been hired.

Statutory minimum wage (index 100): 256.60
Statutory minimum wage 20% (index 100): 307.920

Other remuneration items

Provisions for night work, Sunday work, working on public holidays

Night work Hours worked between 22.00 and 6.00. (Article 11.3)	Night work, carried out at the express request of the company, gives rise to a salary supplement of 15%. This supplement may be combined with supplements for working on Sundays or public holidays.
Night work for mobile workers The period between 00.00 and 5.00. (Article 22)	It provides entitlement to a salary increase of 15% for each hour worked between 22.00 and 6.00.
Sunday work Sunday work is regulated and remunerated according to the legal provisions. (Article 11.1)	It provides entitlement to a salary supplement (of 70%) for each hour worked on a Sunday.
Working on public holidays As required by the company, it is regulated and remunerated according to the legal provisions.	If a public holiday falls on a normal working day, the public holiday shall be remunerated as follows: basic salary hours worked or compensation in kind (compensated as free time) supplement of 100% on hours worked. If a public holiday falls on a Sunday, public holiday work shall be remunerated as follows: basic salary hours worked or compensation in kind (compensated as free time) supplement of 170% on hours worked.

Working time

Working time for mobile workers

Working time

(Article 18)

Any period between the beginning and the end of work during which the employee is at their post, at the employer’s disposal and performing their duties;

periods during which the employee cannot freely dispose of their time and is required to be at their post, ready to resume normal work, performing certain service-related tasks, in particular waiting periods when the normally foreseeable duration of these periods is not known in advance.

Note
The normally foreseeable duration, in particular for an operation of loading or unloading goods during which the employee is not carrying out any of the activities listed above, is 2 hours, and not regarded as working hours except as expressly provided for in Article 18.1.5.

Available time

(Article 20)

Periods (other than those relating to breaks and rest periods) during which the employee is not required to remain at their post, but must be available to respond to any calls to undertake or resume driving or to do other work.
periods of less than 2 hours during which the employee accompanies a vehicle transported by ferry or by train,
periods of waiting at borders,
waiting periods due to traffic restrictions,
the first 2 hours of a waiting period during loading and unloading, unless the employee has received instructions or information from their employer or, without prejudice to the provisions of internal regulations, from their representative, from the consignee or from the consignor of the goods or their agent, or any other person who may exercise authority over the employee, or if they may refer to information normally available over the expected duration of the waiting period,
for employees driving in a team, the time spent while the vehicle is moving next to the driver or on a sleeper bunk.

Excluded from working time

the breaks referred to in Article 21,
the rest periods referred to in Regulation (EC) No 561/2006,
The available times referred to in Article 20.2

Work breaks

(Article 21)

employees shall not work for more than 6 consecutive hours without a break.
Working time shall be interrupted by a break of 30 minutes when the total working time is between 6 and 9 hours, and by at least 45 minutes where the total working time exceeds 9 hours.
These work breaks may be subdivided into periods of at least 15 minutes each.

Note:
The above provisions are not to be confused with the breaks provided for in the regulation on driving and rest periods (Regulation (EC) No 561/2006).

Driving and rest periods

(Article 26)

Principle

Driving and rest periods are governed by Regulation (EC) No 561/2006.
Daily rest periods may be taken in the vehicle provided that the vehicle is equipped with a sleeper and a supplementary heating system.

Special provisions for drivers of vehicles with a maximum permissible mass not exceeding 3.5 tonnes:

employees whose daily working time exceeds 8 hours shall be entitled to a daily rest period of at least 9 hours and a weekly rest period of 36 hours over each 7-day period.
Mobile workers who do not exceed a radius of 50 kilometres shall take a break from their work for 30 minutes at the latest 6 hours after starting work.
Where the driver exceeds a radius of 50 km from where they started work, a break from driving of 45 minutes shall be provided no later than 4½ hours after starting work. This 45-minute break may be replaced with a break of at least 15 minutes followed by a break of at least 30 minutes.

Night work

The period between 00.00 and 5.00.
(Article 22)

When the employee is required to work 2 hours during the night period, and at least twice a week, the daily working time shall not exceed 10 hours for each 24-hour period.
This limitation does not apply when employees drive in teams of two.

Maximum working time

A week is defined as the period starting at 00.00 on Monday and ending at 24.00 on Sunday.
(Article 19)

For employees engaged in transport activities carried out by means of vehicles, including trailer or semi-trailer vehicles, the maximum permissible mass of which exceeds 3.5 tonnes, the weekly working time shall be limited to an average of 48 hours, calculated over a period of 4 months, but without the weekly time exceeding 60 hours per individual week. The length of the reference period may be reduced without, however, the average weekly working time and the weekly working time per individual week exceeding the limits of 48 and 60 hours, respectively.
For employees whose time worked in the course of a road transport activity does not exceed 8 hours in total over a given week, the weekly working time shall not exceed 48 hours.
For employees engaged in transport activities carried out by means of vehicles, including trailer or semi-trailer vehicles, the maximum permissible mass of which does not exceed 3.5 tonnes, the weekly working time shall be limited to 48 hours.

Spreadover

This is the period of time between the start and the end of work.
(Article 32)

Principle

Spreadover must not exceed 12 hours and the total number of consecutive spreadovers must not exceed 6.
The duration of the spreadover may be increased to 15 hours at most 3 times a week if, before the end of the following week, the planned rest period is granted as compensation.

Derogation for international transport:

If the journey is made with a crew of two drivers, the spreadover may extend over 21 hours provided that, in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 561/2006, the drivers rest for at least 9 consecutive hours per day in a stationary vehicle.

Overtime

(Article 33)

Overtime is paid at a rate of 40%.

The following shall be regarded as overtime:

all working hours exceeding the working time laid down in the employment contract. Overtime worked during the month shall be counted on the basis of the reference period for the current month and its working days,
all hours exceeding the spreadover laid down in Article 32.

Where, during the month, the actual working hours as provided for in Article 18 and the monthly spreadover defined in Article 32 are exceeded, the overtime hours shall be taken into account only once, in this case for the highest number of overtime hours.

Where the conditions specific to certain companies so require, the company may apply to the Minister of Labour for a reference period longer than that to which reference is made in Article 33.1.

Working time for non-mobile staff

These are cleaning staff, storepersons, handlers and craftspersons.
(Article 34)

The normal working time is set at 40 hours per week.

The maximum daily working time shall not exceed 10 hours.

The length of the reference period and overtime shall be determined in accordance with the provisions of the Code du Travail [Luxembourg Labour Code].

Right to leave

Leave (Article 6)

The provisions on leave are governed in accordance with the statutory provisions.

Additional leave

As compensation for any weekly rest period of 45 hours not taken, additional leave shall be granted:
- 1-8 times: 1 day
- 9-16 times: 2 days
- 17-24 times: 3 days
- 25-32 times: 4 days
- 33-40 times: 5 days
- more than 40 times: 6 days
At the age of 45 and with 10 years of service in the company, 1 additional day of leave is granted.
At the age of 50 and with 15 years of service in the company, 2 additional days of leave are granted.

Termination of contract

The provisions on termination of contract are governed in accordance with the statutory provisions. (Article 4)

Article 4.2 provides for cases of serious misconduct committed by the employee
Article 4.3 provides for cases of misconduct committed by the employer

Travel, board and accommodation

Interruption of work abroad (Article 29)

If, for reasons beyond their control, the driver or co-driver is stranded abroad for at least 24 hours without that time being able to be counted as actual working time, they will be entitled to a gross allowance of EUR 23.05, without prejudice to the allowances for travelling expenses due under Article 30 of the Agreement.

Travelling expenses and mileage allowances (Article 30)

Travelling expenses

Drivers and co-drivers who are travelling continuously for at least 6 hours away from their home, company headquarters or place specified in the employment contract shall be entitled to a meal allowance of
- EUR 3.47 when the journey takes place within the country
- EUR 7.93 when the journey takes place abroad.
Within a period of 24 hours, a second meal allowance shall be granted when the driver or co-driver has been travelling continuously away from their home and from the company headquarters or place specified in the employment contract for at least 10 hours.

Travel abroad means travelling beyond a perimeter which exceeds the border by 25 km.

Unless there is a special situation (e.g. an accident), no meal allowance is payable when the driver or co-driver could possibly return home for meals.

When the driver or co-driver is travelling between 00.00 and 5.00, an allowance is granted for staying the night free of charge, including breakfast, of
- EUR 1.49 within the country
- EUR 4.71 abroad.

For journeys abroad lasting longer than 24 hours, the driver or co-driver shall receive an additional allowance of EUR 2.48 per day.

Kilometre allowance

Work is started either at the company headquarters or at the employee’s home, or at the place specified for that purpose in the employment contract.
Where the employee is obliged to start or finish work at another location, the resulting additional costs will be borne by the company.
Where the employee is obliged to go to the place where work is started by their own means of transport, and if the distance between the employee’s home and the company headquarters is shorter than the distance between the employee’s home and the place where work is started, the additional distance shall be compensated at the rate of 0.2 per kilometre.
The time obtained by dividing the additional distance by an hourly average of 50 km shall be considered as actual working time.

Health, safety and hygiene

Work clothing and personal protective equipment (Article 7)

The personal protective equipment provided for in the statutory provisions for accident prevention is made available to the employee free of charge.

The employee is obliged to use this equipment under all circumstances provided for by law and by the internal regulations of the company or clients. They shall be personally liable for damage caused to their own person or to third parties if this equipment is not used.

Where the company requires that a uniform or work clothes be worn, it shall make them available to the employee free of charge.

In the event of loss or premature wear of this work or personal protective clothing due to misuse or manifest lack of maintenance, the employer may require the employee to make a financial contribution to its replacement or repair.

Lifting heavy loads (Article 8)

In accordance with the règlement grand-ducal du 4 novembre 1994 relatif aux prescriptions minimales de sécurité et de santé pour les lieux de travail [Grand-Ducal Regulation of 4 November 1994 on minimum safety and health provisions for the workplace], the employer shall take appropriate organisational measures and use appropriate means to mitigate the risks involved in manual handling and loading by workers.

Other points (including sector-specific provisions)

Registers (Article 23)

The company shall keep a record of the time worked by employees engaged in transport activities carried out by means of vehicles, including trailer or semi-trailer vehicles, the maximum permissible mass of which exceeds 3.5 tonnes.

The working time register and record sheets, data downloaded from the on-board unit or driver card and their printed version and, where applicable, printouts, duty rosters and journey forms shall be kept for at least 2 years after the period in question.

Calculating times (Article 24)

Where the employee works for more than one employer, the working time must be added together.

A full-time employee is not allowed to enter into a second employment contract unless specifically authorised by their employer.

An employee employed under a part-time contract is required to inform their employer as soon as they enter into a second employment contract.

Unless otherwise agreed between the employers, the employee is required to provide each employer with the time worked for the other employer on a monthly basis.

Work expenses (Article 13)

The company is required to cover in advance all foreseeable expenses to which the employee may be exposed either by order of the company or in the course of the normal execution of their work.

For example, the following are to be considered as foreseeable expenses: fuel, tolls, customs charges, use of a train, ferry, plane or rental car. Supporting evidence must be provided to the employer.

The employee is not permitted to use company payment means (credit card, cheque, cash, etc.) for personal purposes.

Where, for professional reasons, the employee must have a passport and/or a visa, the company shall bear the cost of fees for a visa and/or passport to be issued.

Where vaccination is recommended by the Luxembourg Ministry of Health for travel to a particular region or country, the costs of such vaccination shall be borne by the company.

The use of company communication means (e.g. fax, mobile phone, radio transmitter) is reserved for professional purposes.

Any other company arrangement must be by written agreement between the parties.

Transport of dangerous goods (Article 27)

In companies transporting dangerous goods, employees who, by order of the employer, successfully complete training or retraining courses for the ADR certificate are remunerated for the course hours undertaken.

Equal treatment and non-discrimination provisions

Equality between men and women (Article 15)
Racism and unlawful discrimination (Article 16)
Sexual harassment (Article 17)