Registering with ADEM and claiming unemployment benefits as a resident
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Practical guide · trigger.lu
Registering with ADEM and claiming unemployment benefits as a resident
- When
- as soon as your notice period starts, at the latest on your 1st day without a contract
- Cost
- free
- What you need
- 13-digit social security number
- ID document
- LuxTrust or eID
Details
Without LuxTrust or an electronic ID card, register in person at an agency by appointment at (+352) 247 88 888. Registration is also open to people who are currently employed and looking for a job.
- Deadline
- at the latest 4 weeks after the end of your contract
- ADEM mail
- if you haven't heard back within 8 days, call the Contact Center
- What you need
- bank details (IBAN, BIC, bank name)
- copy of your last employment contract
- dismissal letter if applicable
- proof of family allowances if you have children
Details
After registering, ADEM will send you a letter inviting you to complete your application on MyGuichet.lu.
- When
- on the date indicated in your summons
- Languages
- Luxembourgish, French, German, or English
Details
Your ADEM advisor becomes your point of contact for your job search. If you do not speak any of these languages, come accompanied.
- Summonses
- attend every appointment
- What to report
- temporary job, training course, illness with a medical certificate
- Stays abroad
- request an exemption before leaving
Details
Leaving without an exemption will cost you days of benefits.
This is for you if
- You live in Luxembourg and your employer has just dismissed you (excluding gross misconduct).
- Your fixed-term contract (CDD) is ending and you don't have a new job yet.
- You are on notice and want to prepare for what's next without losing time.
- You recently arrived in Luxembourg and don't know if your months of work are enough.
This is not for you if you are a cross-border worker: your unemployment benefits are paid by your country of residence (France Travail, Forem, Agentur für Arbeit), not by ADEM. And if you have just finished your studies without having worked, a special allowance exists (see FAQ).
Key figures
| Item | Value | Year or date |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum period worked | 182 days (26 weeks) in the 12 months prior to registration, minimum 16 hrs per week | 2026 |
| Deadline to claim benefits | 4 weeks after job loss, at the latest | 2026 |
| Rate | 80% of gross salary over the last 3 months (excluding 13th month) | 2026 |
| Rate with child | 85% if you benefit from the child tax relief | 2026 |
| Unskilled minimum social wage (SSM) | €2,771.33 gross per month | Since 1 June 2026 |
| Cap for the first 6 months | 2.5 × SSM, i.e. €6,928.33 gross | Since 1 June 2026 |
| Cap thereafter | 2 × SSM, i.e. €5,542.66 gross | Since 1 June 2026 |
| Cap in case of extension | 1.5 × SSM, i.e. €4,157 gross | Since 1 June 2026 |
| Duration | 1 month of benefits per month worked over the last 12 months, maximum 12 months (from age 50, an extension of 6 to 12 months is possible depending on your years of pension insurance) | 2026 |
| Authorized absences | 25 working days per year, with exemption requested prior to departure | 2026 |
Euro caps are trigger calculations based on the indexed SSM: they adjust with each new index tranche. To understand how this works, read our guide on the index and your net salary.
Who is entitled to full unemployment benefit
ADEM (Agence pour le développement de l'emploi, the public employment service) pays the benefit if you meet all of these conditions:
- you are between 16 and 64 years old and resident in Luxembourg when your dismissal is notified (permanent contract), or at least 6 months before your fixed-term contract (CDD) ends;
- you lost your job through no choice of your own: dismissal with notice, end of a fixed-term contract (CDD), employer bankruptcy;
- you worked at least 182 days during the 12 months prior to your registration, under one or more contracts;
- you are fit for work, available, and ready to accept suitable employment.
Excluded are: resignation, termination by mutual agreement, and dismissal for gross misconduct. An exception exists: if you challenge gross misconduct before the labor court, or if you resigned due to gross misconduct by the employer or sexual or moral harassment, the judge can grant you temporary unemployment benefits. You reimburse it if you lose the court case. Our guide on resignation, notice period, and rights details this case.
Were you sick at the end of your contract? The benefit only starts when you become fit for work again.
A worked example
Let's take Inès, 29 years old, who arrived from Lisbon a year ago and lives in Esch-sur-Alzette. Her full-time fixed-term contract (CDD) ends on October 31, 2026. She worked 10 months over the last 12 months, earning €4,200 gross per month.
- 182-day condition: 10 months of work, so this condition is met.
- Reference salary: €4,200 gross (average of the last 3 months, excluding 13th month bonus).
- Benefit: 4,200 × 80% = €3,360 gross per month.
- Cap for the first 6 months: €6,928.33, then €5,542.66: she stays below it, so her benefit does not change.
- Duration: 10 months, equal to the number of months worked.
Social security contributions and taxes are deducted from these €3,360, just like on a salary: the amount paid into her bank account will be lower. To understand these deductions, check out our guide on your payslip.
Let's compare with Marc, dismissed after 3 years earning €7,500 gross. 80% gives €6,000: this is under the €6,928.33 cap for the first 6 months. From the 7th month onwards, the cap drops to €5,542.66: his benefit drops by €457.34 gross per month.
Common mistakes
- Waiting until the end of your notice period to register: benefits start at the earliest on your first day without a contract, provided you are registered on that day. If you register later, you are only indemnified from the day of your registration.
- Signing a mutual agreement termination proposed by your employer: you lose your entitlement to unemployment benefits, unlike with a dismissal.
- Going abroad without leave: you lose days of benefits and risk being deregistered.
- Missing an appointment without notice: 7 days of lost benefits, 30 days in case of repeat occurrences.
- Refusing a suitable job or a measure proposed by your advisor: benefit payments stop.
Frequently asked questions
At the latest on your first day without a contract: benefits then run from that day. If you register later, they only start from the date of your registration. You can register as soon as your notice period begins, and then you have 4 weeks to submit your benefit claim.
In principle, no. Only a resignation due to gross misconduct by the employer or sexual or moral harassment can grant provisional rights, following a decision by the labor court.
80% of your gross salary over the last 3 months, 85% if you have a dependent child. The cap is €6,928.33 gross per month for the first 6 months, then €5,542.66 (amounts as of June 1, 2026).
Not to standard unemployment benefits, but to a "young school leaver" benefit equal to 70% of the SSM, paid in principle 26 weeks after registration, subject to age and diploma conditions. More ideas for this period in our guide what to do after your studies.
Yes, if you reach 182 days of work over the last 12 months by adding jobs from another EU, EEA country, or Switzerland. Conditions: your last job must be in Luxembourg, and you must live there. If you arrived less than 6 months before your fixed-term contract (CDD) ends, check your exact case on ADEM, unemployment benefit for resident employees (ouvre dans un nouvel onglet). These periods are proven using the U1 form, issued by the employment service of your previous country. Employment outside these countries does not count.