Information regarding COVID

Under the existing bylaw (Dienstvereinbarung), telework may be requested for up to 50% of one’s individual working hours for a period of up to one year.

Requests for “(case-by-case) work from home” can be submitted according to the appendix to the telework bylaw – (case-by-case) work from home – for reasons that usually occur at short notice, for up to 100% of one’s individual working hours. The grounds for requests are:

• Family emergency or crisis (this includes, for example, persons capable of working and who are supposed to reduce their contacts due to suspected coronavirus in themselves or in a person in their own household)
• Building/renovations at the university which make normal use of the workplace difficult
• Extreme temperatures in the workplace

Requests must be submitted to the respective supervisors and forwarded to human resources. Requests are valid for up to four weeks at a time and may be extended if need be.

You can find both request forms among the bylaws on the website of the staff council and in the human resources download area.

For individuals who face an increased risk of severe Covid-19, it is possible to find other solutions on a case-by-case basis. Employees and management can obtain advice on this from the occupational health service.

Information on health and safety in the “home office” is available on the occupational safety department (Arbeitssicherheit) website (in German only).

Updated: 02/2023

The hygiene concept is no longer in effect at the university since February 2, 2023. COVID-19 is airborne, so the recommendations for protection against infections (DHM+A: keep your distance, observe proper hygiene, wear a mask and keep closed spaces well aired) are of course still useful, see, e.g. https://www.infektionsschutz.de/coronavirus/fragen-und-antworten/sich-und-andere-schuetzen/ (in German only) or https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/advice-for-public.

Severe acute illness and long-term health problems can affect anyone. However, some people have an increased risk of this, see e.g. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/need-extra-precautions/people-with-medical-conditions.html.

Vulnerable individuals, including those who are pregnant (both students and employees), are thus advised to contact the university’s occupational health service (phone: 07071 29 87092) for a consultation. The occupational health service will provide a certificate of the result of the risk consultation with regard to the protective measures recommended from an occupational health point of view to the individuals advised upon request – while safeguarding medical confidentiality.

Updated: 10/2023

If you notice any problems with cleaning services, please report them to: reinigungspam prevention@zv.uni-tuebingen.de. A form „Meldebogen zur Unterhaltsreinigung“ is available for complaints on the download site of the Finance Division.

If an employee is sent home with symptoms of illness such as cough, cold or fever, the occupational health service recommends immediate surface disinfection of the workplace of the person affected. For reasons of prevention, these measures should also be applied to workplaces where the person concerned has been regularly present up to 48 hours before the start of the illness.

It sometimes takes a while before it is clear whether a person is infected with the coronavirus. Not everyone is tested. For reasons of care, surface disinfection is therefore urgently required.

Updated: 07/2022

With the Betriebsrätemodernisierungsgesetz (works council modernization act), which was passed at the end of June 2021, accident insurance coverage for employees who telework or work remotely has improved significantly. Their insurance coverage is now the same as that of employees who work on-site. This means that now the journey from the “home office” to daycare is also insured, as well as the routes to go eat something and to the toilet (note: the private activity itself, such as eating, is still not insured!).

More details are provided in this fact sheet from the Unfallkasse Baden-Württemberg (in German only).

For information on what to do in case of a workplace/commuting accident, please see this staff council FAQ webpage.

The SARS-CoV-2 Occupational Health and Safety provision of the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (BMAS) expired on 02.02.2023. Recommendations from BMAS on workplace infection protection against COVID-19, influenza and colds are available at: https://www.bmas.de/DE/Arbeit/Arbeitsschutz/Gesundheit-am-Arbeitsplatz/Betrieblicher-Infektionsschutz/betrieblicher-infektionsschutz-art.html (in German only).

The German Social Accident Insurance (DGUV) provides detailed recommendations on proper ventilation for infection control: https://publikationen.dguv.de/regelwerk/publikationen-nach-fachbereich/verwaltung/innenraumklima/3932/fbvw-502-infektionsschutz-empfehlungen-zum-lueftungsverhalten-an-innenraumarbeitsplaetzen (in German only)

Updated: 03/2024

The legal entitlement to child sick days and child sick pay has also been extended for the year 2023. The entitlement has been increased to 30 (instead of 10 in non-pandemic times) days, or 60 (instead of 20) for single parents. For multiple children, the entitlement is limited to a maximum of 65 days; for single parents, the entitlement is limited to a maximum of 130 days.

Privately insured parents and parents entitled to Beihilfe can claim compensation in accordance with §56 (1a) of the Infection Protection Act (IfSG).

Further information is available here, for example: https://www.bundesgesundheitsministerium.de/themen/praevention/kindergesundheit/faq-kinderkrankengeld.html (in German only)

Updated: 05/2023

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was made easier to take caregiver leave (Pflegezeit) and family care leave (Familienpflegezeit). This included, in particular, the right of employees to be absent from work for up to 20 (instead of the previously 10) working days to deal with a pandemic-related urgent care situation, and the possible entitlement to wage compensation for up to 20 working days (§ 9 Pflegezeitgesetz – Home Care Leave Act – and § 150 para. 5d of the Sozialgesetzbuch – Social Welfare Code). This special provision was set to expire at the end of December 2022, but has now been extended until April 30, 2023 (see https://www.wege-zur-pflege.de/familienpflegezeit for information on family care leave, in German only).

In addition, subject to the employer’s consent, employees can now use any remaining periods of an already ended caregiver leave and/or family care leave for the same close relative in need of care multiple times over a total period of up to 24 months.

Please do not hesitate to contact us should you require any further information on this matter.

Updated: 10/2022

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Wissenschaftsvertragsgesetz (academic fixed-term contract act) has been expanded by another transitional regulation. The total permissible fixed-term contract period according to § 2 paragraph 1 WissZeitVG (for qualification) was extended by another 6 months. After employment contracts for qualification that existed between March 1, 2020, and September 30, 2020, could be extended by six months, these contracts as well as those that are newly established between October 1, 2020, and March 31, 2021, can be prolonged for another six months. Information from the BMBF: https://www.bmbf.de/de/faq-was-befristet-beschaeftigte-jetzt-wissen-muessen-11682.html (in German only).

The Unfallkasse Baden-Württemberg (statutory accident insurance organization, UKBW) attributes infections with the SARS-CoV-2 virus that occurred after March 20, 2022, to the “general risk of life” and thus no longer covers them by the statutory accident insurance. This is due to the difficulty of verifying the transmission of the virus at the workplace to the required degree of proof. Thus, it is not impossible for an infection with the coronavirus to be recognized as a workplace accident, but it has become significantly more difficult.

However, if there is a clear chronological link between your infection and another infection at your workplace, we still advise you to report it as a workplace accident. You do not need to provide the name(s) of your infected colleague(s)–the UKBW will investigate this as required. The UKBW will review each case individually.

The current form for reporting an accident at work can be found in the download area of the HR department:
https://uni-tuebingen.de/en/136909#c696184 (login required, in German only)

For employees in the healthcare and nursing professions, COVID-19 qualifies as an occupational disease.

Updated: 07/2022

The German Trade Union Confederation (DGB) has compiled information in English on corona and labor law on this website: https://www.faire-mobilitaet.de/-/x1P 

Further information in German is available from various trade unions:

• dbb beamtenbund und tarifunion: https://www.dbb.de/corona-informationen-tarifbeschaeftigte.html (salaried employees) and https://www.dbb.de/corona-informationen-beamtinnen-und-beamte.html (civil servants)
• ver.di: https://www.verdi.de/themen/recht-datenschutz/++co++37f4d360-58b0-11ea-8408-525400b665de
• DGB: https://www.dgb.de/-/m72