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Eurofound's EU PolicyWatch collates information on the responses of government and social partners to the COVID-19 crisis, the war in Ukraine, rising inflation, as well as gathering examples of company practices aimed at mitigating the social and economic impacts.

Factsheet for measure LU-2022-11/2348 – measures in Luxembourg

Labour market access for refugees from Ukraine

Marché du travail et réfugiés

Country Luxembourg , applies nationwide
Time period Temporary, 09 March 2022 – 04 March 2023
Context War in Ukraine
Type Legislations or other statutory regulations
Category Measures to prevent social hardship
– Protection of vulnerable groups (beyond employment support)
Author Patrick Thill (LISER) and Eurofound
Measure added 19 May 2022 (updated 20 June 2022)

Background information

The EU has decided that refugees from Ukraine should not go through the asylum procedure and receive temporary protection in all member states. The temporary protection status entitles the persons concerned to work in Luxembourg. Persons receiving temporary protection are exempted from applying for a temporary employment permit and are thus free to access the labor market in Luxembourg without a special permit as long as their temporary protection certificate is valid. Once they have officially received temporary protection status, those interested can also register as jobseekers with the Employment Development Agency (ADEM). Recipients of temporary protection status can contact ADEM.

Content of measure

Refugees who arrive in Luxembourg can apply for a job without any particular procedure. "They can therefore be hired directly under an ordinary employment contract, on a permanent, fixed-term or temporary basis, in accordance with the provisions of the Labour Code". The access to work for Ukrainian refugees follows the provisions of the Act of 18 December 2015 on temporary protection. Moreover, the Groupement des entrepreneurs encourages its members who wish to hire Ukrainian refugees to declare their job vacancies to ADEM "in visible mode" according to the usual procedure via the JobBoard of the Employment Development Agency.

Furthermore, ADEM and the Chamber of Commerce invite employers with recruitment projects to declare their vacancies to ADEM, according to the usual procedure. As a reminder, two options can be chosen: the "public" posting, which will be accessible to anyone whether or not they are registered with ADEM, or the "non-public" posting, which will only be visible to registered jobseekers.

Use of measure

No information available to date.

Target groups

Workers Businesses Citizens
Migrants or refugees in employment
Does not apply to businesses Migrants or refugees

Actors and funding

Actors Funding
National government
Employers' organisations
Company / Companies
Public employment service
No special funding required

Social partners

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

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

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

  • No involvement
  • Main level of involvement: N/A

Involvement

Only employers are involved. Employers who have recruitment projects or vacancies must declare them to ADEM, according to the procedures, i.e. either by "public" posting, which will be accessible to anyone whether or not they are registered with ADEM, or by "non-public" posting, which will be visible only to registered jobseekers.

Views and reactions

The Association de Soutien aux Travailleurs Immigrés (ASTI) confirms that this decision is long overdue for people who have fled their country. This is a criticism of refugees with international protection status who have fled war in Syria, Libya or Afghanistan, but who have been excluded from this opening of the labour market in recent years. For both employers and jobseekers, the procedure is long, bureaucratic, complex and costly.

Sources

Citation

Eurofound (2022), Labour market access for refugees from Ukraine, measure LU-2022-11/2348 (measures in Luxembourg), EU PolicyWatch, Dublin, https://static.eurofound.europa.eu/covid19db/cases/LU-2022-11_2348.html

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Disclaimer: This information has not been subject to the full Eurofound evaluation, editorial and publication process.