Background information

The law of 29 January 2021 establishes a new temporary de minimis aid scheme for self-employed workers in the context of COVID-19.

The Luxembourg government has decided to reinforce the support to self-employed people affected by the financial consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. On 8 January 2021, the Council of Government approved, on the proposal of the Minister for Small and Medium-sized Businesses, a draft law aimed at introducing a new, one-off, non-reimbursable financial aid for the self-employed.

This measure is a renewal of the measure LU-2020-19/965 .

Content of measure

The law provides for a one-off grant of €3,000, €3,500 or €4,000. It is given according to the income bracket in which the person falls. The subsidy is intended for people who are primarily self-employed and affiliated with the social security system.

Four conditions must be met:

• The worker must be affiliated with the common social security centre on 31 December 2020.
• He/she has the necessary authorisations and approvals for the activity he/she carries out as a self-employed person.
• To be eligible for the allowance, the professional income must be at least equal to or higher than one-third of the minimum social wage. It must not exceed the minimum social wage amount of two and a half times.
• The self-employed person is experiencing temporary financial difficulties in connection with the health crisis.

Use of measure

The measure has been used by 4.714 companies and in total €14.99 million had been paid to self-employed workers.

Target groups

Workers	Businesses	Citizens
Self-employed	Solo-self-employed	Does not apply to citizens

Actors and funding

Actors	Funding
National government	National funds

Social partners

Social partners' role in designing the measure and form of involvement:

	Trade unions	Employers' organisations
Role	Unknown	Unknown
Form	Not applicable	Not applicable

Social partners' role in the implementation, monitoring and assessment phase:

• Unknown
• Main level of involvement: N/A

Involvement

No information.

Views and reactions

The professional chambers have given their opinion on the draft law 7745 of the law : The employers' chambers (Chamber of Commerce, Chamber of Crafts):

• to allocate the aid to all self-employed persons in the craft sector, including those who currently have an exemption from paying social security contributions.
• to provide for recurrent payments for the self-employed.
• to create a legal basis for replacement income for self-employed people in the event of future crises.

The Chamber of Employees;

• notes that the amount is very low and does not allow the self-employed to really cope with the difficulties encountered.
• To add an additional condition to the granting of the aid, i.e. that the self-employed person should have fulfilled his social obligations with regard to the payment of social contributions in 2020.

Sources

• 25 January 2021: New aid for self-employers, (www.chd.lu)
• 01 February 2021: Law of January 29. 2021 concerning the in troduction of a certified emergency allowance (2021) for self-employed. (legilux.public.lu)
• 22 September 2021: Dashboard Covid-19 - 22 September 2021 (meco.gouvernement.lu)