Corona – Information on how to deal with the pandemic

• The “3G rule” applies in the workplace. Employees who have neither been vaccinated nor recovered must show proof of testing that is updated on a daily basis. The 3G proof requirement for entry to the workplace University also applies to employees who cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons.
• Employees are responsible for ensuring that they carry valid 3G certificates with them and that they can present them during company inspections.
• Only a test proof based on a negative antigen test or a negative PCR test according to § 5 para. 4 CoronaVO is accepted as a test proof regarding the non-existence of an infection with the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. The test detection must have been performed by a recognized external service provider in accordance with Section 6 (1) of the Coronavirus Testing Ordinance. The University as an employer does not offer these tests. Self-tests performed without or with supervision are not sufficient proof of testing.
• Employees are responsible for the cost of such testing unless it is provided as part of free citizen testing. Neither will the University reimburse costs for such testing nor is time spent on such testing compensable as work time.
• The entitlement for unvaccinated / not recovered from Corona according to § 4 para. 1 and 2 of the SARS-CoV-2 Occupational Health and Safety Ordinance (Corona-ArbSchV) to free tests at least twice a week remains in the usual form (self-tests). However, these tests do not constitute proof in the sense of the 3G regulation.

Since November 22, 2021, the Freiburg Vaccination Center in Hall 1 of the Freiburg Exhibition Center has been offering COVID-19 vaccinations under the direction of the University Hospital. Currently, there are no separate vaccination offers via the company medical service.

You can book a vaccination appointment for a first, second and booster vaccination via the following portal: https://www.terminland.eu/Impfstuetzpunkt-Freiburg/.

Please also take advantage of other opportunities for vaccination. The state of Baden-Württemberg publishes information on vaccination campaigns and the locations of mobile vaccination teams on the website www.dranbleiben-bw.de.

For tariff employees

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.

In accordance with the decree of the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Finance of Baden-Württemberg The new Infection Protection Act came into force on November 24. According to the Infection Protection Act, in the case of office work or comparable activities, the employer must once again offer employees the opportunity to perform these activities at home if there are no compelling operational reasons to the contrary. The employees must accept this offer if there are no reasons to the contrary. These may include, for example, a lack of space or technical facilities in the employee’s home.

Home office is therefore granted as far as possible, pragmatically, employee-friendly and flexibly by the respective superiors of the divisions. For the time being, no approval by the Human Resources Department is required in these cases; however, the Personnel Department must be informed of the approval of a home office by the supervisor in writing, preferably by e-mail.

For employees who may belong to a risk group, the relevant regulations of the University hygiene regulations apply.

The room concept and the possible occupancy of the rooms with regard to Corona-related requirements must be clarified on site – if necessary in consultation with the Safety Department.

For work in the home office, the general regulations apply in principle, with the exception, however, of the limitation of the amount of time spent in the home office to a maximum of 50% of the respective working time.

The working hours (see service agreement on working hours) must be recorded and documented for the supervisors.

The accessibility of the employees in the home office is to be clearly regulated and ensured in agreement with the supervisor. For this purpose, technical assistance, such as the conversion of the office telephone to the private telephone, if necessary, should be used.

The necessary equipment and, if necessary, access to the University network must be ensured.

The employment office and the employee are jointly responsible for ensuring data security and data protection.

Employees employed in the home office are also protected by accident insurance for official activities at their home office.

If employees want to apply for teleworking regardless of the Corona-related situation, a written application is required in accordance with the applicable service agreement.

Employees who look after one or more children up to the age of 12 or children who are permanently in need of care due to a physical, mental or emotional disability because no other care is available after the closure of schools and daycare facilities, can use working time credits and (old) vacations, if available. The departments are required to give priority to these applications for working time compensation or vacation and to comply with the wishes of the employees, unless there are official reasons not to do so.

Employees who have to look after their children themselves due to the closure of schools or childcare facilities and thus suffer a loss of earnings are entitled to statutory compensation in accordance with § 56 (1a) IfSG. This compensation currently amounts to 67% of the loss of earnings, a maximum of 2,016 € per month for a maximum of 6 weeks. Before the compensation claim can be asserted, priority must be given to positive working time credits and old vacation from 2019 and earlier. There is no compensation provided by law for the time when schools or childcare facilities are closed anyway (regular school or daycare vacations).

You can find more detailed, up-to-date information at https://ifsg-online.de/index.html.

Civil servants are not entitled to compensation according to § 56 Abs. 1a IfSG.

In cases of particular hardship (e.g. single parents without childcare facilities), employees may be granted leave of absence with continued payment of their remuneration or special leave with retention of remuneration, provided that the employees concerned have neither positive working time credits nor old leave from 2019 or earlier. This may not be opposed by reasons of business. The service shall be provided with evidence of the circumstances justifying the hardship case and the lack of a care facility.

The supervisor must inform the responsible personnel officer by e-mail about the granting of the credit.

For employees who are responsible for close relatives in need of care because a full- or part-time inpatient care facility has been closed due to the spread of COVID-19, the regulations on child care under “What rules pertaining to working time apply if I have to care for children at home?” The same applies to employees who have lost a full-time home care worker due to the spread of COVID-19. Proof of the closure of the care facility or the lack of care facilities must be made available to the office upon request.

Legally insured parents can claim 20 days of children’s sick pay per child and per parent instead of 10, and a maximum of 45 days in total if there are several children, if their child is under 12 or is disabled and dependent on assistance.

Entitlement to children’s sick pay also exists if a child must be cared for at home because daycare centers or schools are closed, compulsory attendance at school has been suspended, or access to daycare services has been restricted. Parents can also apply for children’s sick pay if they are able to work from home. For single parents, the entitlement increases by 20 to 40 days per child and per parent, up to a maximum of 90 days if there are multiple children.

The need for care must be proven to the health insurance company by a certificate from the respective facility that has closed. You must also submit an application for the children’s sick pay to the health insurance company. You must then report the days for which you have applied for children’s sick pay to the relevant administrator in the Human Resources Department and also provide us with a copy of the certificate from the daycare center or school. The Human Resources Department will then report 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 children’s sick pay. It is 112.88 euros per day.

There is no additional entitlement under Section 56 of the Infection Protection Act (IfSG). The children’s sick pay can be applied for retrospectively from 05.01.2021.

Salaried employees who are not entitled to children’s sick pay and who have to care for their child, who is under 12 years old, at home because daycare centers or schools are closed, compulsory attendance at school has been suspended or access to daycare services at daycare centers has been restricted, are entitled to reimbursement under the Infection Protection Act.

Civil servants who have to care for their child at home due to corona because daycare centers or schools are closed, compulsory attendance at school has been suspended or access to daycare services at daycare centers has been restricted may also be granted special leave by their supervisor at his or her discretion in individual cases pursuant to Section 29 (1) no. 1 AzUVO in conjunction with no. 46.4 BeamtVwV.

Civil servants are not entitled to special leave according to § 56 IfSG.

A home office is to be used as a matter of priority, as far as this is possible for official reasons. Work-time credits and old leave must also be used as a matter of priority. Special leave that may have already been granted in 2020 must be taken into account accordingly. In any case, the responsible administrator in the HR department must be contacted and the further procedure clarified.

The requirements for “regular operation under pandemic conditions” continue to apply in the University day care centers, as they result from the CoronaVO, the CoronaVO-Kita as well as the protection instructions from the KVJS (Kommunalverband für Jugend und Soziales), the UKBW (Unfallkasse) and the LGA (Landesgesundheitsamt) in the respective valid version.

You can find more information at https://www.familienservice.uni-freiburg.de/