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Measures for employment: what changes on 1 July 2026 for CAE, CIE, CRE and professionalisation training internship

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The Law of 3 March 2026, adopted so as to strengthen measures in favour of youth employment, will enter into force on 1 July 2026.

This reform concerns not only the Contrats d’Initiation à l’Emploi (CIE) [Employment Initiation Contracts] and the Contrats d’Appui-Emploi (CAE) [Employment Support Contracts], but also the Stages de Professionnalisation (SP) [Professional training internship].

The law introduces three major developments:

  • a reform of the compensation scheme for CAE and CIE, now aligned with that of the Contrat de Réinsertion-Emploi (CRE) [Employment Reintegration Contract];
  • a harmonisation of the rules on leave applicable to beneficiaries of these three measures;
  • a generalised access to the professionalisation training internship.

What are the CIE, CAE, CRE and the professionalisation training internship?

The CIE and the CAE are employment measures managed by the Agence pour le Développement de l’Emploi (ADEM)  [Employment Development Agency], enabling companies to host a young jobseeker in a real‑life work situation with a view to facilitating sustainable integration into the labour market.

The essential difference between these two schemes lies in the nature of the host organisation:

  • the CIE is intended for commercial companies and employers in the market sector, capable of offering a genuine prospect of employment at the end of the contract;
  • the CAE is reserved for employers in the public or non‑market sector, such as the State, municipalities, public institutions, associations or other non‑profit organisations.

For its part, the CRE aims at the professional reintegration of individuals further removed from the labour market, namely jobseekers aged at least 45, persons undergoing external professional redeployment, and persons recognised as disabled workers.

The SP is a short‑term measure enabling an employer to assess a jobseeker in a real working environment prior to a potential recruitment.

What changes on 1 July 2026?

Compensation for employees under CAE/CIE

As of 1 July 2026, the ADEM will pay the allowance directly to beneficiaries of a CAE or CIE. Employers will therefore no longer be responsible for paying this allowance, aligning these schemes with the system already applicable to the CRE.

In this context, the employer will contribute only by paying a share of the allowance to the Employment Fund, as follows:

  • CAE
    • 25% of the allowance during the first 12 months;
    • 50% of the allowance in the event of a 6‑month extension.
  • CIE
    • 50% of the allowance during the first 12 months (35% where the person employed belongs to the under‑represented sex in the sector or profession concerned);
    • 70% of the allowance in the event of a 6‑month extension.

As the employer will no longer pay the allowance, no payslip relating to this allowance will need to be issued for CAE or CIE beneficiaries as of 1 July 2026.

To simplify administrative procedures, the ADEM will henceforth also handle the affiliation of beneficiaries with the Centre Commune de la Sécurité Sociale (CCSS) [Joint Social Security Centre].

Harmonisation of rules relating to leave

Until now, CRE beneficiaries were entitled to 2 days’ leave per month, while CAE and CIE beneficiaries received the recreational leave applicable within the company, proportionate to the duration of their contract.

To end this difference in treatment, the law provides for the alignment of the CRE leave regime with that of the CAE and CIE, thereby establishing uniform rules for all the measures concerned.

Broader access to the professionalisation training internship

The Law of 3 March 2026 also extends the scope of the SP, which is no longer restricted to jobseekers aged 30 and over. As of 1 July 2026, any jobseeker registered with the ADEM, including young people, may be offered a professionalisation placement.

This placement, limited to 6 weeks (or 9 weeks for highly qualified profiles), enables the employer to assess a candidate in a real working environment without immediately resorting to a longer‑term measure.

The reform also strengthens the continuity between the professionalisation placement and the Employment Initiation Contract (CIE):

  • the requirement for a minimum registration period with ADEM does not apply when the CIE is concluded immediately after an SP;

  • where the SP is followed by a CIE with the same employer, the duration of the CIE must be reduced by the duration of the placement.

These new rules secure the use of the professionalisation placement and make it a genuine pre‑recruitment tool.

Conclusion

By harmonising the rules applicable to CAE, CIE and CRE, while broadening access to the professionalisation placement, the legislator strengthens the rationale  of a progressive pathway towards employment and significantly simplifies the administrative management of these measures.

For employers, these developments notably include the removal of the need to pre‑finance allowances linked to CAE and CIE. Jobseekers, for their part, benefit from more secure payment of their allowance and broader access to measures supporting their professional integration.

The legal team at Securex Luxembourg remains at your disposal to assist you in analysing these new rules and applying them in practice from 1 July 2026.