Corona – Information on how to deal with the pandemic

The university does not offer testing facilities on campus and does not provide SARS-CoV-2-antigen tests for self-administration. It is also no longer possible to order them.

If you would like to have yourself tested, you must do so on your own responsibility outside of working hours. As a rule, you will have to pay a personal contribution of €3. It is not possible to receive a reimbursement from the university. For more information, click here.

If you have any symptoms of a coronavirus infection, please stay at home and seek advice by telephone (general practitioners’ surgeries, fever outpatient clinics, nationwide call number of the emergency medical service in Germany 116117). Here you will find out whether a test is possible and where you can have it done.

For more information

No. No self-administered SARS-CoV-2 antigen tests will be made available by the University.

At “Dranbleiben-BW.de” you can access information on the topic of vaccination, tips on locations and current vaccination campaigns at your location. Vaccination appointments can also be booked directly via this portal. There is currently no Corona vaccination service available through the in-house medical service.

Vaccination against the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus is available during working hours. Please take advantage of this offer and get vaccinated.

For tariff workers

Possible contract extensions due to the Corona-related amendment of the Wissenschaftszeitvertragsgesetz (WissZeitVG) (Academic Fixed-Term Contract Act)

With the Academic Research and Student Support Act due to the COVID-19 pandemic, among other things, the maximum fixed-term periods for contracts that are limited in time according to Section 2 (1) WissZeitVG were extended.  In addition, the Federal Ministry of Education and Research has currently extended these periods by an additional six months by ordinance.

According to the new Section 7 (3) WissZeitVG and the ordinance of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research in this paragraph, it is possible for the permissible fixed-term period to be extended by 12 months if an employment relationship pursuant to Section 2 (1) WissZeitVG existed between March 1, 2020 and September 30, 2020. For employees whose employment relationship exists between October 01, 2020 and March 31, 2021, the permissible fixed-term period is extended by a maximum of six months.

This means that the statutory maximum fixed-term employment period for employees who are employed

• at the time between March 01, 2020 and September 30, 2020.
• and were qualified pursuant to Section 2 (1) WissZeitVG and were or are still limited by 12 months to six years and 12 months or to 12 years and six months,
• and for employees who were or are still limited by 12 months to six years and 12 months
• at the time between October 01, 2020 and March 31, 2021.
• and were qualified pursuant to § 2 para. 1 WissZeitVG as employees of the University of Freiburg, extended by six months to six years and six months or to 12 years and six months.

An extension claim or an automatic extension is not associated with this regulation. At the request of the responsible supervisor(s) with details of further financing and details of which qualification goal is to be achieved, contracts can be entered into for up to 12 months or up to six months (commencement of work between October 1, 2020 and March 31, 2021), depending on the individual case, if this is necessary and appropriate. In this case, please send a corresponding P6 request to the Human Resources Department and also attach a brief statement of the facts.

For employees who are employed on a fixed-term basis according to § 2 para. 2 WissZeitVG (third-party funding), the extension option listed here does not apply. In some cases, third-party funders also respond with extensions of the term, so that contracts can be extended accordingly here as well.

If you have any questions, please contact the personnel officer responsible for you.

For civil servants

Corona-related change to the State Higher Education Act

Extension of temporary civil service contracts upon request due to pandemic-related delays in further qualification

According to a newly created provision in the State Higher Education Act (LHG), temporary civil service contracts of academic advisors and junior professors that already existed between March 1, 2020 and March 31, 2021 can be extended by up to twelve months upon request, pursuant to Section 45 (6a) LHG, in order to compensate for pandemic-related disabilities and delays in further qualification. 

Important: this extension option has now been increased from up to six months to up to twelve months.

However, there is no entitlement to an extension or an automatic extension associated with this provision; rather, it is at the discretion of the University.

The extension must be applied for informally in writing through official channels by the civil servant, stating the intended duration of the extension (up to twelve months). This application should clearly explain and justify why there were delays in the personal further qualification due to the Corona pandemic. This request must then be submitted to the Human Resources Department with a supplementary, supportive statement from the student’s direct supervisor and the approval of the dean of the respective faculty.

If you have any questions, please contact your personnel officer.

For civil servants as well as for employees, the Ordinance on Protection against Entry-Related Infection Risks with Regard to the Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (Coronavirus Entry Ordinance-CoronaEinreiseV) of the Federal Government, as amended, applies.

If quarantine is required after the leave, no paid time off will be provided. The necessity of the trip and the respective risk should be weighed responsibly.

The summer semester 2022 is an on-site semester. This also requires an increased presence of the employees.

For working in a home office, the regulations of the existing service agreement on “Tele- und Heimarbeit an der Universität Freiburg” (see under Service A-Z – remote work and home office) will apply as of May 28, 2022. Applications by employees for home office under the above service agreement can be made using form P500.

The following transition period applies: employees who submit a request using form P500 by June 5, 2022, may work in a home office to the extent specified in the request until it is decided. Supervisors are asked to forward requests to the Human Resources Department immediately.

Employees who require special protection according to the occupational health recommendation “Dealing with employees in need of special protection due to the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic” issued by the Committee for Occupational Medicine must continue to be granted home office under the simplified procedure. This group includes, in particular, employees who have to undergo long-term therapy with immunosuppressants or have had to undergo organ or stem cell transplantation, as well as employees with a history of malignancy under ongoing therapy, employees with heart failure from NYHA III classification, with cardiomyopathies from NYHA III or with higher-grade heart valve defects.

To the extent possible, rooms that are temporarily unoccupied due to part-time work or vacation shall be used temporarily for contact reduction by other employees. The temporary use of another workstation is to be coordinated with the employees in advance.

The University allows all employees to telecommute or work on a mobile basis to care for children up to the age of 12 until further notice, if another suitable person is not available to care for them and there are no compelling operational reasons to the contrary.

Tariff workers

In addition, tariff workers are entitled to children’s sick pay under the following conditions.

Prerequisites for the granting of children’s sick pay in accordance with Section 45 of the German Social Code (SGBV)

Collective bargaining employees who are legally or voluntarily insured in a statutory health insurance fund and whose child has not yet reached the age of 12 can receive children’s sick pay because

1. the childcare facility has been closed by the authorities
2. your child is not allowed to enter the care facility
3. the obligation to attend school has been lifted
4. there are restrictions on access to the childcare facility
5. there is an official recommendation to refrain from attending the facility

Legally insured parents can apply for 30 instead of 10 days of child sickness benefits per child and parent in 2022, up to a maximum of 65 days in total for multiple children. For single parents, the entitlement increases from 20 to 60 days per child and parent, to a maximum of 130 days for multiple children.

If you wish to apply for children’s sick pay, you must submit a corresponding application to the health insurance fund and, if necessary, also submit a corresponding certificate from the school or daycare center there (depending on your health insurance fund). Please then inform the responsible administrator in the personnel department by e-mail of the days for which you have applied for children’s sick pay. The Personnel Department will then report these days to the State Office of Salaries and Benefits. There, the salary payment for these days is then stopped.

Child sick pay is 90% of your lost net pay. There is a daily maximum limit for the child sickness benefit. It is 112.88 euros per day. There is no entitlement during the period in which schools or childcare facilities are closed anyway (regular school or daycare vacations).

Right to compensation payment

In addition to the entitlement to children’s sick pay, all tariff workers are entitled to compensation payment until 23.09.2022 in accordance with Section 56 (1a) of the Infection Protection Act, whereby you can either apply for children’s sick pay only or assert your entitlement under the Infection Protection Act. A claim under the Protection Against Infection Act is also available to tariff workers who are not entitled to child sick pay and who must care for your child, who is under 12 years old, at home. In the case of shared care, parents receive compensation for up to ten weeks per year, regardless of the number of children; in the case of sole supervision, care or nursing, up to 20 weeks per year.

If you wish to claim benefits under the Infection Protection Act, please note that priority must be given to claiming positive working time credits or old leave. An entitlement under the Infection Protection Act exists during regular school or daycare vacations.

Civil servants

For civil servants who have to look after a child who has not yet reached the age of 12, neither the regulation according to § 45 SGB V nor the regulation according to § 56 para. 1a IfSG for tariff workers apply directly.

In addition, civil servants who have to look after their child from home due to an official closure or a ban on entering a childcare facility or similar (see the above-mentioned requirements for tariff workers) may take 18 working days off per child, but no more than 36 days in the case of several children (§ 29 Para. 1 No. 1 AzUVO). Single parents have the possibility to apply for up to 18 working days, or in case of several children up to 36 working days in the calendar year 2022. However, for the calendar year 2022, this applies until September 2022.

The additional child sick days for childcare in the event of a closure or a ban on entering a childcare facility, etc., cannot be used for the time when schools or childcare facilities are closed anyway (regular school or daycare vacations).

In addition, the supervisor can grant further special leave in the event of official closure of facilities or a ban on entering the childcare facility, based on the transfer of the values of Section 56 (1a) IfSG, if there are no official reasons for not doing so.

In these cases, priority must be given to using positive working time credits and old leave. As far as possible for official reasons, teleworking can be used (the service agreement on “telecommuting and working from home” at the University of Freiburg applies).

If these additional child sick days are used to care for a sick child, their number is reduced accordingly for use for child care in the event of a closure or a ban on entering a child care facility, etc. This applies for the calendar year 2022 from January 1, 2022 until the end of September 23, 2022.

In any case, the responsible administrator in the Human Resources Department must be contacted to clarify how to proceed.

Employees who have to take over the care of close relatives in need of care due to the closure of a full or partial inpatient care facility are not entitled to children’s sick pay.

However, they are entitled to a compensation payment in accordance with Section 56 (1a) lfSG until September 23, 2022. Before this compensation claim can be asserted, positive working time credits and old leave must be claimed as a priority. No compensation is provided for periods when childcare facilities are closed (regular vacations).

If you have any questions, please contact the person responsible for you at the Human Resources Department.

Tariff workers

Until further notice, the university offers telecommuting or mobile work to tariff workers for the care of children up to the age of 12 if another suitable person is not available to provide care. There must be no compelling operational reasons to the contrary.

In addition, there is an entitlement to children’s sick pay or compensation payment under the Infection Protection Act under the following conditions.

Prerequisites for the granting of children’s sick pay in accordance with § 45 SGB V

Children’s sick pay can be granted to tariff workers who are legally or voluntarily insured in a statutory health insurance fund and whose child has not yet reached the age of 12 because

1. the childcare facility has been closed by the authorities

2. your child is not allowed to enter the care facility

3. the obligation to attend school has been lifted

4. there are restrictions on access to the childcare facility

5. there is an official recommendation to refrain from attending the facility.

Legally insured parents can apply for 30 instead of 10 days of child sickness benefits per child and parent in 2022, up to a maximum of 60 days in total for multiple children. For single parents, the entitlement increases from 20 to 60 days per child and parent, to a maximum of 130 days for multiple children.

The need for care must be proven to the health insurance company by means of an appropriate certificate. You must also submit an application for the child sickness benefit to the health insurance fund. You must then report the days for which you have applied for children’s sick pay to the responsible administrator in the Human Resources Department and also provide us with a copy of the certificate from the daycare center or school. The Personnel Department then reports these days to the State Office for Salaries and Benefits, where salary payments for these days are then stopped.

Children’s sick pay is 90% of your lost net pay. There is a daily maximum limit for the child sickness benefit. It is 112.88 euros per day.

In addition to the entitlement to children’s sick pay, all tariff workers are also entitled to compensation under the Infection Protection Act. You can either apply for children’s sick pay only, or you can claim your entitlement under the Infection Protection Act.  A claim under the Infection Protection Act is also available to collective bargaining employees who are not entitled to child sick pay and who must care for their child, who is under 12 years old, at home.

If you wish to apply for benefits under the Infection Protection Act, please note that the options for telecommuting and remote work are to be used as a matter of priority, insofar as this is possible from a business perspective. Likewise, positive working time credits or old leave must be used as a matter of priority.  There is also no entitlement under the Infection Protection Act if there is emergency care at the school or daycare center or during regular school or daycare center vacations.

If you have any questions, please contact the person responsible for you in a timely manner.

Civil servants

Civil servants also have the possibility to telecommute at the University of Freiburg. The basis for this is the current service agreement on “telecommuting and working from home” at the University of Freiburg.

For civil servants who have to take care of a child who has not yet reached the age of 12, neither the regulation according to § 45 SGB V nor the regulation according to § 56 Abs. 1a IfSG is directly applicable.

In addition, civil servants who have to look after their child from home due to an official closure or a ban on entering a childcare facility or similar (see the above-mentioned requirements for tariff employees) can be granted 9 days of special leave per child, or a maximum of 18 days if there are several children (§ 29 Para. 1 No. 1 AzUVO). Single parents have the possibility to apply for up to 18 working days, or more than one child up to 36 working days in the calendar year 2022.  For the calendar year 2022, however, this only applies until the end of September 23, 2022.

This is not subject to the requirement that telework, positive time credits or old leave or alternative reasonable care (e.g., emergency care at school or childcare facility) must be used as a priority.

In addition, the supervisor can grant further special leave, based on the transfer of the values of Section 56 (1a) IfSG in the event of the official closure of facilities or in the event of a ban on entering the care facility, if there are no official reasons for not doing so.

In this case, teleworking must be used as a matter of priority, insofar as this is possible for official reasons. In these cases, positive working time credits and old leave must also be used as a matter of priority.

If you have any questions, please contact the person responsible for you in the Human Resources Department.

1. Application for telecommuting (written application)
2. Documentation of working hours ( Table 2023).