Legal framework

Regulations on working hours: Flexible working hours for full-time and part-time staff

a) Work starts at 9:00 at the latest. Work ends at 15:30 at the earliest, on Fridays at 12:00 at the earliest. Part-time staff can also work flexible working hours. Working days and daily working hours are determined on a case-by-case basis.

b) All staff record their working hours for each month in a time sheet using the time recording system. The time sheet must be updated daily and signed and submitted to the respective superior at the end of the month.

c) Time to be counted as working time begins at 6:30 and ends at 19:30 (flextime). Total daily working time may not exceed 10 hours. After 6 hours of work, a break of 30 minutes is mandatory; after 9 hours of work, a break of 45 minutes is required.

d) A lunch break of at least 30 minutes is to be taken during the time meals are served in the canteen (Mensa). Permanently longer lunch breaks can be arranged for on an individual basis upon justified request. Requests should be sent to the university administration, Division of Human Resources.

e) Please note that the flexible period for the yearly work account runs from 1 February to 31 January of the following year. Overtime that exceeds the average weekly working time must be used by 31 January, otherwise it expires on 1 February. You can find the Official Agreement on working hours at the University of Konstanz on the HR website under "Arbeitszeitrichtlinie".

a) Staff members may only be absent from work with the consent of their supervisors. If consent cannot be obtained in advance, it must be applied for immediately afterwards.

b) In the event of unauthorized absence, the staff member’s entitlement to continued payment of salary and benefits lapses. This may also have legal consequences under labour laws.

c) You have to report any inability to work immediately to your unit and supervisor. If the inability to work lasts longer than three calendar days, employees must submit a medical certificate no later than the following working day. Civil servants must submit a medical certificate if the duration of the illness is expected to exceed one week. In certain individual cases, the employer may require a certificate at an earlier date.

d) If you are unable to work due to the fault of a third party, this must be reported to Human Resources so that compensation can be claimed.

e) You must also inform your direct supervisor of your return to work after your inability to work has ended.

f) If your child is ill and you need to stay at home, you have the option to take a certain number of special leave days: Staff members under collective agreement can take ten working days per calendar year off without pay. Civil servants are also entitled to special leave for the duration of the necessary absence to watch, look after or care for a sick child who has not yet reached the age of 12. This entitlement is limited to a maximum of ten working days per calendar year for each child. For nine tenths of these days, you will continue to receive your salary. In both cases, a medical certificate confirming the child’s illness must be enclosed with the request for sick leave.

The University of Konstanz generally allows its staff members to work up to 50 per cent of their planned working hours from home, provided this is compatible with their work responsibilities. Of this amount, up to 30 per cent of the individual working hours may be completed as remote work. Your manager must approve the application to work from home and work remotely in advance. You can find the application to work from home on the Human Resources website (under "Home Office und mobile Arbeit" - "Antrag auf Home Office").

In general, paid annual leave must be taken by the end of the year (= calendar year). If the leave cannot be taken by the end of the year, it must be taken by 30 September of the following year.

Annual leave may only be taken with prior approval. Professors must give written notice of their annual leave in good time before taking it. Teaching staff must take their annual leave during the lecture-free period. Staff members with a severe disability or partial disability are entitled to additional leave. This is subject to the requirement that Human Resources receives corresponding documentation of the disability from the "Versorgungsamt" (social security authority).

If the schedule of working hours on individual working days of the week changes (e.g. working hours scheduled from Mon-Wed instead of Mon-Fri), this must be reported to Human Resources and, where applicable, the departmental office, as this may affect the calculation of annual leave.

Educational leave – also known as "Bildungsurlaub" – is paid time off from work for the purpose of continued professional or political training or to qualify for certain volunteer activities.It is based on the "Bildungszeitgesetz BzGBW" (educational leave act of Baden-Württemberg), which went into effect on 1 July 2015. Leave for special occasions must be authorized by Human Resources. Please fill in the corresponding form provided on the HR website (under "Bildungsurlaub").

The maximum number of flexdays each staff member can take per month and year is set by the state of Baden-Württemberg and laid out in the Official Agreement on working hours. Staff who work 5 days a week can take up to 5 flexdays in a row per month, and up to 24 flexdays per year. This amount is reduced accordingly for staff who work fewer days per week.
4 work days/week ≙ 19 flexdays/year and up to 4 flexdays in a row,
3 work days/week ≙ 14 flexdays/year and up to 3 flexdays in a row,
2 work days/week ≙ 10 flexdays/year and up to 2 flexdays in a row,
1 work day/week ≙   5 flexdays/year and up to 1 flexday in a row.

Overtime that is to be paid must be directed by Human Resources in advance in writing. Supervisors must submit requests to Human Resources in good time, i.e. before the overtime begins. Please also consult the regulations in the Official Agreement on working hours.

Secondary employment must be reported to/authorized by Human Resources in advance. University facilities, staff and equipment may only be used for secondary employment with the authorization of the university administration.

Deferred compensation ("Entgeltumwandlung") is based on an agreement between staff and employers that a portion of future gross earnings will be converted into an entitlement to a company pension of equal value. This means that this part of the gross salary is paid into a company pension scheme.

The "Versorgungsanstalt des Bundes und der Länder (VBL)", (pension institution of the federal and state governments) is the exclusive provider for deferred compensation schemes for university staff. The maximum amount for deferred compensation is limited to up to four percent of the respective income threshold per year. The minimum contribution amounts to €21.22 per month (as of 2023). Interested parties can obtain further information and application forms from the VBL (VBL Service Centre hotline: +49 721/9398935; kundenservice@vbl.de, www.vbl. de). After selecting the VBL supplementary pension model and receiving the application form from the VBL, you then conclude a deferred compensation agreement with Human Resources.

Deferred compensation is only possible for future salary amounts. Therefore the "Landesamt für Besoldung und Versorgung (LBV)", which is responsible for deferred compensation, must receive your request including the corresponding compensation agreement by the 10th of the current month to apply it to the next month's earnings.

Binding commitments to pay relocation expenses and a separation allowance are made by Human Resources. If applicants are to be reimbursed for relocation expenses, they have to submit a corresponding request, including a justification, prior to their hiring. Due to a shortage of funds, this can only be approved in exceptional cases if there is an indisputable official interest in the hiring and a service/employment relationship of at least two years is to be established.

Please submit requests for business travel and for the authorization of travel grants to the university administration at least 14 days before the travel date. Human Resources is responsible for processing your travel expenses. You can download the request and reimbursement forms from the Human Resources website (under "Vordrucke", "Antrag auf Genehmigung/Business trip request form"; "Abrechnung/Travel expense report") .

The corresponding university units can reimburse the costs of trips for interviews within the framework of the applicable guidelines (see information sheet on the reimbursement of costs for appointment and interview travel). You can find more information using the same link.

Contact and information
Manuel Wenger, head of travel expenses
+49 7531 88-2392
manuel.wenger@uni-konstanz.de

All staff members should check whether it is advisable for them to take out their own personal professional liability insurance. When doing so, we recommend you pay particular attention to any restrictions on insurance coverage and exclusions.

When processing data, time and again there are problems and shortcomings in matters of data security and data protection because the necessary technical and organizational security measures are often not taken and, for example, data is processed that is not required for the intended purpose.

The EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) obligates us to protect personal data (information that relates to the personal circumstances of a specific or identifiable person, e.g. address, salary bracket, etc.), which is handled in many areas at the University of Konstanz. This data and copies of any kind are subject to data protection regulations. The design and selection of technical equipment and procedures for the automated processing of personal data must be based on the principle of processing no or as little personal data as possible (see Art. 5c GDPR).

Under the GDPR, personal data may only be processed on the basis of a contractual agreement with the data subject or a statutory provision – e.g. from the Landeshochschulgesetz LHG (state law on higher education) or the Landesdatenschutzgesetz LDSG (state data protection act) – and in strictly limited exceptional cases also with the consent of the data subject. Lists and statistics that contain personal data must be destroyed (e.g. using a document shredder) or deleted after use in compliance with data protection regulations.

Please be sure to complete the training course on the introduction to data protection law within the first few days of starting work. All staff members are bound by data confidentiality and must comply with the provisions of the LDSG:

§ 3 para. 2 LDSG "Data Confidentiality"
"Persons employed by public entities are prohibited from processing or otherwise using personal data without authorization (data confidentiality). Data confidentiality shall continue to apply even after the employment has ended."

Contact and further information
Anuschka Haake-Streibel
Legal Affairs
+49 7531 88-2870
anuschka.haake-streibel@uni-konstanz.de

 

IT security team
itsec.kim@uni-konstanz.de

 

Accidents at the workplace/work-related accidents are accidents that are causally related to the work activity. This also includes accidents on the way from home to the workplace and back. In such cases, staff members are insured through their employer. Such accidents must be reported to Human Resources immediately.

You can collect the corresponding form from the Occupational Safety team (+49 7531 88-3764, Room G 424) or download it from their website at -uni.kn/agu. You can also contact Christine Aicheler in Human Resources, (+49 7531 88-2054) or find the form on the HR website at  -uni.kn/personalabteilung/vordrucke-merkblaetter-information.

During pregnancy, expectant mothers must be given comprehensive protection against potential risks to themselves and their child. We therefore kindly ask expectant mothers to observe the information sheet "Maternity Leave". Please inform Human Resources about the pregnancy and the expected date of birth as soon as possible and submit a certificate confirming the pregnancy. We recommend that you also inform your supervisor before informing Human Resources. Once Human Resources has been informed that you are pregnant, they will notify the in-house physician and, where applicable, the physician will notify the safety engineers to check whether your work poses any risks.

The result is also forwarded to the Freiburg regional authority, which monitors compliance with safety regulations.

In collaboration with the Staff Council, the University of Konstanz has concluded an Official Agreement on addressing alcohol use and addiction. The aim of the Official Agreement is to prevent the abuse of alcohol and other addictive substances in the workplace in view of the impact this has on the quality of life, on the performance and quality of work, as well as the considerable risks this poses to the individual concerned.

The agreement focuses on offering constructive help at an early stage to those affected as well as any colleagues and supervisors involved. In addition, we ask all staff to note that under No. 3.2.3 of the "Dienstordnung für die Landesverwaltung Baden-Württemberg" (official regulations for the state administration), the consumption of alcoholic beverages during working hours is not permitted.

The university is legally obligated to offer staff who have been on long-term sick leave a meeting to improve their working situation.

A return-to-work programme is offered to all staff members for whom the duration of one or more periods of inability to work amounts to six weeks within a year. The university is interested in talking to affected staff at an early stage to determine whether something can be done to improve the situation, e.g. if the health problems were caused or negatively influenced by the conditions at the workplace. Together, we look for helpful supporting measures as part of the return-to-work programme.

More information is available at: -uni.kn/personalabteilung/vordrucke-merkblaetter-information.

At the University of Konstanz, the basic principles of scientific work, which researchers pledge to uphold, are safeguarded by the Statutes to Ensure Good Scientific Practice and on Handling Allegations of Academic Misconduct and the Guidelines of the University of Konstanz to Ensure Good Scientific Practice.

The University continuously reminds its members and affiliated members of the statutes, guidelines and applicable recommendations of the German Research Foundation (DFG), thereby supporting researchers in conducting their day-to-day research honestly.

For doctoral researchers, Academic Staff Development offers a compulsory course on good scientific practice.

Contact and information:

Academic Staff Development

Upon leaving employment with the university, all staff are required to return and take care of the following (as applicable):

1. Staff ID card
2. Transponder and/or key
3. Any borrowed books, insofar as they were provided within the scope of official duties (e.g. reserve shelf)
4. Work equipment received (e.g. PCs, laptops and accessories/equipment)
5. Office and building keys and any other keys of the university
6. Other items belonging to the university
7. Payment of personal telephone charges
8. Confirmation from your supervisor that your workplace and the related equipment have been handed over in proper condition.
9. If you have dealt with hazardous substances in your work, you also need a confirmation that any hazardous substances that are no longer required have been disposed of, and that any hazardous substances still needed at the university have been returned to your supervisor along with a transfer report (available from the director of the departmental administration).
   Contaminated equipment must be cleaned and equipment that is no longer safe to use must be disposed of. The university reserves the right to claim compensation if you do not observe these regulations and if, as a consequence, additional costs arise due to subsequently required decontamination and/or disposal.