Harassment and workplace violence in Luxembourg: understanding the legal framework and preventing risks in companies

Harassment and workplace violence are now a major issue for companies and public organizations in Luxembourg. Beyond the human and social impacts, these situations can also lead to significant legal, organizational, and economic consequences for employers. In recent years, Luxembourg’s regulatory framework has evolved to strengthen prevention and protect employees against these psychosocial risks.

In this context, raising awareness and training teams play an essential role in preventing these situations and ensuring a healthy and respectful working environment.

What is meant by harassment or workplace violence?

Harassment and workplace violence can take different forms: psychological harassment, sexual harassment, or violent behavior in professional relationships.

These behaviors can take various forms:

• repeated humiliating or demeaning remarks
• deliberate isolation of an employee
• excessive workload or abusive removal of tasks
• intimidation or threats
• deliberate deterioration of working conditions

Harassment may come from a line manager, a colleague, but also from a client or an external partner.

A strengthened regulatory framework since 2023:

For a long time, protection against psychological harassment was mainly based on an agreement signed in 2009 between trade unions and employers’ organizations, which had been declared generally applicable by Grand Ducal regulation.

However, this mechanism was deemed insufficient to ensure effective protection for workers. This is why the Luxembourg legislator introduced a genuine legal framework into the Labour Code in 2023.

The new legislation provides in particular for:

• A legal definition of psychological harassment
• Clear obligations for employers
• An intervention procedure by the Labour and Mines Inspectorate (ITM)
• Administrative and criminal penalties in the event of non-compliance with obligations.

Penalties can amount to several thousand euros in fines, particularly when the employer does not take the necessary measures to put an end to a situation of harassment.

To view official information on the legal framework, you may also consult the Chamber of Employees’ page:
https://www.csl.lu/fr/vos-droits/salaries/sante-et-securite-au-travail/harcelement

Employers’ obligations in Luxembourg:

The legislation assigns employers a central role in preventing and managing harassment situations. In particular, they must:

• Prevent harassment situations within the organization
• Put internal reporting procedures in place
• Act quickly when a situation is brought to their attention
• Protect victims and witnesses against any form of retaliation.

The law also specifies that these obligations apply broadly: incidents may occur at the workplace, but also during business travel, training, company events, or work-related communications.

In the event of a report, the employer must analyze the situation and implement the necessary measures to stop the offending behavior.

The role of the Labour and Mines Inspectorate (ITM):

In Luxembourg, the Labour and Mines Inspectorate plays a key role in managing harassment situations. When a case of harassment is reported and internal measures are not sufficient, the ITM may be contacted. The administration may then:

• Investigate the reported facts
• Hear the victim and the alleged perpetrator
• Carry out on-site visits
• Request the implementation of corrective measures.

At the end of this procedure, a report is drawn up and may include mandatory recommendations for the employer.

For more information on this administration’s missions, you may consult the official website:
https://itm.public.lu

The consequences of harassment for organizations:

Beyond the legal dimension, workplace harassment can have significant consequences for companies:

• Deterioration of the social climate
• Increase in absenteeism
• Decline in performance and engagement
• Higher turnover
• Damage to the company’s image and reputation.

These situations also generate significant financial costs related to disputes, sick leave, or employee departures.

This is why preventing psychosocial risks has become a strategic issue for organizations.

The importance of prevention and training:

Prevention is now the best strategy for combating harassment and workplace violence. It involves in particular:

• Raising awareness among managers and employees
• Implementing clear internal policies
• Identifying psychosocial risks
• Training teams in respectful behavior and conflict management.

Training managers is particularly important, as they play a key role in early detection of problematic situations and in managing relationships within teams.

For example, companies can implement awareness-raising actions or specialized training programs, such as those offered by https://trainevo.lu, in order to strengthen employees’ skills in preventing harassment and managing sensitive situations.

Some training courses make it possible in particular to:

• Understand Luxembourg’s legal framework
• Identify early warning signs of harassment
• Know how to respond to a report
• Adopt respectful and inclusive management practices.

You can explore the dedicated programs on Trainevo’s training page:
https://trainevo.lu/formations

Towards a respectful workplace culture:

Strengthening the legal framework in Luxembourg marks an important step in combating harassment and workplace violence. However, regulations alone cannot resolve these issues.

Prevention above all requires an organizational culture based on respect, listening, and collective responsibility.

Companies have every interest in integrating these issues into their human resources management strategy, in order to create a healthy, attractive, and sustainable working environment.

By developing managers’ skills and raising team awareness, organizations can significantly reduce the risks of harassment and foster a climate of trust conducive to collective performance.