Compare job offers: salary and working hours (Luxembourg)

Put both packages on the same annual basis

Start with guaranteed annual cash salary, including fixed payments that the employer confirms are part of the offer. Check whether a quoted monthly amount is paid twelve times or follows another schedule. Record whether a package figure already includes employer retirement contributions or other benefits.

Keep discretionary bonuses, commission targets and equity separate from guaranteed income. Write down their conditions, timing and any repayment requirement. An attractive maximum payout is not the same as money you can rely on for recurring expenses, and a one-off joining payment should not inflate the ongoing annual comparison.

Calculate both salaries with comparable assumptions

Use the same model year and personal settings when the jobs are in the same jurisdiction and your circumstances do not change. This isolates the effect of salary. If an offer changes your region, country or insurance arrangement, make that difference explicit and recalculate it.

Compare annual net first, then divide by twelve for a monthly planning average. Payroll timing and final tax settlement may differ. A salary-only estimate cannot determine the tax treatment of every benefit, relocation arrangement or equity award; verify material items separately instead of assuming they behave like ordinary cash salary.

Subtract costs caused by accepting each job

Work out commuting, parking, additional meals, care costs and other expenses that actually differ between offers. Count reimbursements only when the terms support them, and avoid subtracting costs already reflected in net pay. The table subtracts only its stated commuting expense, so the result is not a complete household surplus.

Separate recurring costs from relocation, equipment or a temporary period of double housing. For a first-year comparison, subtract those one-off costs once from the relevant annual result. For the ongoing comparison, leave them out so the transition does not permanently distort the salary difference.

Make the time commitment visible

Compare contracted hours, expected overtime, commuting and any regular unpaid availability. A higher net income may require substantially more time. Remote work can change both travel costs and time, but use the agreed attendance pattern rather than an assumption that it will remain flexible.

If you calculate net per hour, state the denominator: paid contractual hours or time actually committed, including travel. Use explicit working-week and leave assumptions. This is a personal comparison measure, not a statutory hourly wage or a claim that every hour has the same value to you.

Value benefits through their actual terms

Check employer pension payments, insurance, paid leave, training and flexibility in the written offer. Ask when eligibility starts, whether you contribute, and what happens if you leave. A benefit’s advertised price is not automatically its value to your household.

Do not add employer contributions to spendable net salary or count a benefit both as cash and as an avoided expense. List benefits without a reliable cash value separately. It is reasonable to prefer more leave or flexibility, but make that preference visible rather than disguising it as an exact financial return.

Separate the financial result from the final choice

Compare the first year and a normal ongoing year, then test the result without uncertain variable pay. Check probation, notice, location, workload and progression with the employer. These terms can change the suitability of the offer even when the net-pay calculation is unchanged.

Use the financial difference to make a specific negotiation request, such as higher guaranteed salary, travel support or agreed remote days. Keep the two calculator scenarios and the written assumptions together. That record makes it clear what changed if the employer revises the offer.

Before accepting either offer

• Separate guaranteed annual cash, one-off payments and uncertain compensation.
• Calculate both offers with consistent assumptions or explain the differences.
• Compare recurring costs, working time and travel, plus first-year moving costs.
• Verify benefit eligibility and the agreed working arrangement in writing.

Sources and scope

The calculation uses the country model and the stated personal settings. The budget figures are illustrative; official sources explain rules and earnings measures, rather than certify each example.

What the estimate covers

The calculator estimates employment income using its supported country rules and selected inputs. Benefits, collective agreements and personal circumstances that are not modelled are excluded. Official rules determine your actual liability.

• Class 1: default single salary table
• Frontalier (cross-border commuter) specific tax provisions and exemptions are not modelled.
• The extra-professional allowance (abattement extra-professionnel) for two-earner couples and other tax-card allowances are not modelled.

• statistiques.public.lu
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