Undergraduate and graduate student assistants

Undergraduate and graduate student assistants play an important supporting role in research and teaching as well as helping other students in tutorials. Their wages are not covered by a collective bargaining agreement.

We will walk you through the required administrative steps throughout the hiring process as we generate, amend and wrap up your employment contract and up to the moment you leave the university.

What you should know

FAQ

Employment contract

Graduate student assistants

must have a university degree (e.g. bachelor’s). The tasks they perform must require this university degree.

Undergraduate student assistants

must be enrolled in a study programme at a german university leading to their first university degree (usually bachelor's degree). The student to be employed should be a University of Konstanz student.

As soon as the student assistant (e. g. bachelor graduate continuing in a consecutive master's programme) is exmatriculated, he/she must immediately inform Human Resources in writing.

These fixed-term work contracts have a minimum term of 3 months and a minimum of 15 working hours per month. Please submit the request for employment (in German) no later than three weeks before the planned start of work to Human Resources, which exclusively concludes these contracts. The  forms listed in the attachment are available online for download and print-out. The regional authority Landesamt für Besoldung und Versorgung Baden-Württemberg (LBV) in Fellbach is responsible for paying the salaries. Here you can find a list of the persons responsible for salary payments at the LBV.

Inability to work

In case you are unable to work due to illness, please immediately inform the place of employment and the corresponding departmental office. They will forward the sick note to Human Resources. The continuation of your salary is based on the provisions of the German law Entgeltfortzahlungsgesetz EFZG and is processed by the LBV. Here you can find a list of the persons responsible for salary payments at the LBV.

Working hours:  Maximum working hours are 85 hours per month.

Residence permit / work permit

Please check this list to find out who needs a residence permit / work permit. If you need advice, you can also contact our Welcome Centre and Social Security Advisors

Termination of employment

The employment ends after the agreed period has expired. No termination notice is required. The legal period of notice is based on § 622 BGB (German Civil Code).

The employment contract can be dissolved by mutual consent on request any time by the end of the month. Please use the attached cancellation agreement. Please sign and submit three copies of the original German cancellation agreement to Human Resources.

Information sheet on the formalities that have to be completed before leaving.

Duration of employment (time limits)

Undergraduate and graduate student assistants must not be employed more than a total of 6 years (as per § 6 Wissenschaftszeitvertragsgesetz WissZeitVG (academic fixed-term contract law)). All employment relationships as a student assistant at any university, both in Germany and abroad, are summed up for the maximum employment time. This means that if you have/had different employment relationships at (different) academic institutions, all these times are added up and the total must not exceed the maximum of 6 years.

In addition to this, the total time of employment as a graduate student assistant or academic staff member must not exceed the times determined in § 2 (1) WissZeitVG. The period of time where a graduate student assistant works more than 41 hours per month (if applicable, simultaneous employment times are added up) counts toward the 6-year limit stated in § 2 (1) WissZeitVG.

However, these times are taken into account for the 6-year maximum time for graduate student assistants according to the Landeshochschulgesetz LHG (state law on higher education), regardless of the monthly working hours.

Business trips / Relocation of work place

Such activities must be authorized by the Human Resources Division in advance. Please submit a Business trip request form to Human Resources, or, in the case of a relocation of the work place, please formulate your own request.

Maternity leave

The Mutterschutzgesetz (maternity protection act), the Bundeselterngeld- and Elternzeitgesetz (act on parental leave allowance and parental leave) also apply to student assistants. Further information for mothers to be

Taxes and social security requirements

If, and to what extent, the student assistant’s employment is subject to social security contributions, depends on several factors.

Do you have questions about tax liability and social security requirements? Please directly contact the person responsible for paying your salary at the LBV. Do you need advice? Our Social Security Advisors will gladly answer your questions.

If you want to be exempted from pension insurance (Befreiung von der Rentenversicherung) in case of 450-euro-jobs, please note that you have to send a request.

Link to the request form (in German): https://dokumente.uni-konstanz.de/share/s/use81wxKRre1Ke0tnOxsUA

Vacation

Student assistants are entitled to paid vacation in accordance with the Bundesurlaubsgesetz (German law on vacation). The entitlement to vacation depends on the employment duration and the working hours. Here is an overview about working hours and corresponding vacation time. The departmental office receives and approves the applications for vacation.

Payment

The salary for the current month is paid at the end of that month and amounts to:

Undergraduate student assistants

€ 10,01 gross
(per hour)

Graduate student assistants with a bachelor’s degree, who are enrolled in a consecutive master’s programme

€ 11,64 gross (per hour)

Graduate student assistants with a master’s, Diplom or Magister degree

€ 15,80 gross (per hour)

In these student assistant calculation tables you can find the hourly rates for undergraduate student assistants , graduate student assistants with a bachelor’s degree, who are enrolled in a consecutive master’s programme and for graduate student assistants with a master’s, Diplom or Magister degree.

Responsibilities by department/division/unit

Faculty of Sciences

Department 1: Mathematics and Statistics -> N.N., box: 224

Department 2: Computer and Information Science -> N.N., box: 224

Department 3: Physics -> N.N., box: 224

Department 4: Chemistry -> N.N., box: 224

Department 5: Biology (incl. the biology collection) -> N.N., box: 224

Department 6: Psychology -> N.N., box: 224

Departmental section “Grenzen der Absichtlichkeit” -> corinna.wagener@uni.kn, phone: +49 7531 88-2619, box: 224

Faculty of Humanities

Department 7: Philosophy -> corinna.wagener@uni.kn, phone: +49 7531 88-2619 224

Department 8: History and Sociology
Undergraduate student assistants -> udo.traber@uni.kn, phone: +49 7531 88-5267, box: 224
Graduate student assistants -> N.N.

Department 9: Literature with Art and Media Studies -> corinna.wagener@uni.kn, phone: +49 7531 88-2619, box: 224

Department 10: Linguistics -> corinna.wagener@uni.kn, phone: +49 7531 88-2619, box: 224

Faculty of Politics, Law and Economics

Faculty of Politics, Law and Economics -> N.N., phone: +49 7531 88-3953, box: 224

Department 11: Law -> N.N., phone: +49 7531 88-3953, box: 224

Department 12: Economics -> N.N., phone: +49 7531 88-3953, box: 224

Department 13: Politics and Public Administration -> N.N., phone: +49 7531 88-3953, box: 224

University administration

University administration → udo.traber@uni.kn, phone: +49 7531 88-5267, box: 224

Zukunftskolleg → udo.traber@uni.kn, phone: +49 7531 88-5267, box: 224

Central institutions

KIM → N.N., Postfach: 224

The Language Institute (SLI) → udo.traber@uni.kn, phone: +49 7531 88-5267, box: 224

Exzellenzcluster 16 → corinna.wagener@uni.kn, Tel. 88-2619, Postfach: 224

Exzellenzcluster 2117 →  N.N., box: 224

Exzellenzcluster 2035 -> tina.2.schmid@uni.kn, Tel. 88-3953, Postfach: 224

Binational School of Education -> udo.traber@uni.kn,  Tel. 88-5267, Postfach: 224

Graduiertenschule CHB →  N.N., box: 224

Studienberatung → udo.traber@uni.kn,  Tel. 88-5267, Postfach: 224

Hochschulsport → udo.traber@uni.kn,  Tel. 88-5267, Postfach: 224

Internationale Bodensee Hochschule → udo.traber@uni.kn,  Tel. 88-5267, Postfach: 224

Collaborative Research Centres

CRC 969 ->  N.N., box: 224

CRC 767 ->  N.N., box: 224

CRC TRR 161 →  N.N., box: 224

CRC 1214 -> N.N., box: 224

Other responsibilities

Allowances (A-K) ->  udo.traber@uni.kn, phone: +49 7531 88-5267, box: 224

Allowances (L-Z) → udo.traber@uni.kn, phone: +49 7531 88-5267, box: 224

Undergraduate student assistants (A-K) -> udo.traber@uni.kn, phone: +49 7531 88-5267, box: 224

Undergraduate student assistants (L-Z) → udo.traber@uni.kn, phone: +49 7531 88-5267, box: 224