Remote working has been a major trend for the past few years both in Luxembourg and abroad. It has gained further traction and increased in popularity with the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic in a bid to limit the spread of the virus at workplace.
Mostly unregulated in the initial stage of the COVID-19 pandemic in Luxembourg, the national Commission for the Supervision of the Financial Sector (CSSF) decided to evaluate and harmonize the varying remote working practices adopted by the entities under prudential supervision of the CSSF and issued a 16-page circular CSSF 21/769 on teleworking on 9 April 2021. The new circular intended to set out in a clear and precise manner the governance and security measures that the supervised entities should implement when relying on remote working arrangements for their staff members and was supposed to apply as from 1 September 2021. Nonetheless, it never entered into force as planned due to the lasting effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. This is now set to change as the government has announced the elimination of the majority of the health restrictions taken in the context of COVID-19, thus setting the stage for the application of the circular in “normal circumstances” starting from 1 July 2022.