Important information for employees of the UP regarding Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19)

Information on how to proceed in case of suspected cases of coronavirus infection among students can be found under "Contact options and obligation to report coronavirus infections" on the following page.

Should the department send staff members home (leave of absence) as a precaution for protection in suspected cases, they will retain their salary or remuneration entitlement.

• contact with people who have tested positive for COVID-19

Employees who (regardless of travel) have had personal contact with a person who has been tested positive by a laboratory for the SARS-CoV-2 virus, please report immediately and regardless of symptoms to the health authority responsible for you. You can find your local health authority here.

In addition, immediately call a doctor's office or the medical on-call service at 116 117.

Please also be sure to inform your supervisor, so that your information can immediately be forwarded to the Human Resources and Legal Affairs Division.

Affected employees are currently being treated as unfit for work or duty and maynot come back to work until a possible infection with the coronavirus has been clarified. Please also discuss the possibilities of working from home/telework or other flexible solutions for you place of work with your supervisor. The supervisors are authorized to make appropriate arrangements with you.

If you are not allowed to work at the University of Potsdam due to an official order by the health authorities or your department, this does not affect your continued payment of remuneration/salary.

• contact with people who may be infected with Covid-19 or who have had contact with infected people (suspected cases).

Please inform your supervisor by telephone about the situation. Depending on the individual case, it will then be decided whether home office/workplace flexibilization is to be implemented. You can find further information at: https://www.rki.de/DE/Content/InfAZ/N/Neuartiges_Coronavirus/Kontaktperson/Management.html#doc13516162bodyText5

• stay in a designated risk area

According to the SARS-CoV-2 quarantine ordinance, any person returning to the state of Brandenburg by land, sea or air from a private or business trip abroad and having spent time at any point in the last ten days before arrival in a designated risk area is strictly obliged to self-quarantine immediately and directly after arrival and to remain isolated for a period of ten days after arrival, unless they are able to present a negative test result that is no older than 48 hours to the relevant health authority.

On the basis of the general decree of the Brandenburg Ministry of Health, travel returnees (regardless of whether they are returning from a business or private trip) from international risk areas and particularly affected areas in Germany are no longer allowed to enter universities with immediate effect.

In these cases, your department will order you to work from home/workplace flexibilization for a duration of 14 days after your return from the risk area. If, in individual cases, it is not possible to work from home, you will be released from your work or will be granted a leave of absence. The salary or remuneration will continue to be paid.

The Robert Koch Institute recommends that affected persons avoid unnecessary contact and stay at home if possible. If you develop a fever, cough or shortness of breath, you should also observe the coughing and sneezing etiquette as well as guidelines for good hand hygiene and call a doctor's office or the medical on-call service at 116 117.

• stay in non-risk areas with cases of COVID-19

Employees who have stayed in areas where COVID-19 cases occur, but which are not designated risk areas, and who do not show symptoms, will resume their duties normally upon return.

If you develop a fever, cough or shortness of breath within 14 days of your return home, inform your department and stay at home if possible. In addition, immediately call a doctor's office or the medical on-call service at 116 117 and tell them about your recent trip. Avoid unnecessary contacts and observe the coughing and sneezing etiquette as well as guidelines for good hand hygiene.

As a precautionary measure, in your own and in your colleagues' interest, please inform your supervisor of your trip immediately after your return to work to determine the appropriate procedure in your case. Your supervisor will inform the Human Resources and Legal Affairs Division.

Employees are generally obliged to organize childcare in such a way that contractual obligations can be fulfilled or to reduce overtime and compensation days in accordance with the internal agreement on flexitime and to take advantage of flexitime to be released from work duties.

In the current situation, it is often difficult to balance childcare and work commitments. In these cases, you have the possibility, under certain conditions, of taking child sick days (Kinderkrankentage) or being put on leave of absence.

• Child sick days

The federal government has decided to double the number of child sick days this year due to the coronavirus pandemic. Per child and per parent, you are now entitled to 20 sick days instead of 10. For multiple children, the maximum number of sick days is 45. Single parents are now entitled to 40 days instead of 20 per child and parent, with a maximum of 90 days for multiple children.

For the 2021 calendar year, this entitlement also exists if childcare facilities, schools, or facilities for people with disabilities are temporarily closed by the competent authority to prevent the spread of infections or communicable diseases on the basis of the Infection Protection Act, or if access to them is prohibited, also due to sequestration, or if school or company vacations are ordered or extended by the competent authority for reasons of infection protection, or if compulsory attendance at a school is suspended, or access to childcare is restricted, or if the child does not attend the facility on the basis of a recommendation by the competent authority.

To request child sick days (beyond a doctor’s certificate), the following procedure is to be followed:

1. Employee sends an informal application to health insurance company (if applicable, including the necessary documentation).
2. The supervisor is to be informed of the employee’s absence.
3. A copy of the application is sent to Division 3 (Division 3 stops payment of remuneration via ZBB for the relevant days, the employee receives child sickness benefits from the health insurance company).

According to the new Section 45 (2b) of the German Social Code, Book V (SGB V), the entitlement to child sickness benefits under the new Section 45 (2a) of the SGB V, has priority over the entitlement to compensation under Section 56 (1a) of the Infection Protection Act (IfSG) and thus also over the leave of absence for child care set out in the paragraphs that follow. The latter can therefore be claimed only once all child sick days have been exhausted.

• Possibilities for leave of absence

As far as possible, supervisors should order employees to work from home. If there are no appropriate childcare options, no possibility of working from home and no compensation days or flexitime credits and also no child sick days (see above) available, it is now possible from April 20, 2020 up to and including March 31, 2021 to take a total of 34 working days – based on a five-day week – off work under a non-tariff agreement with continued payment of remuneration and a further 16 working days without continued payment of remuneration – again based on a five-day week. It is also possible to take half days off. This provision replaces a claim for loss of earnings under the Infection Protection Act (6 weeks with 67% of the net salary).

The decision on the leave of absence is taken by the Division of Human Resources and Legal Affairs after the respective supervisors have submitted their statements. This is subject to the condition that there are no job-related reasons to the contrary and that there are no other care options available, nor possibilities for working from home/work time compensation.

According to state guidelines, the entitlement to leave of absence is generally ruled out if the employee can reasonably ensure childcare by working from home/teleworking. If this is not deemed acceptable, a specific justification must be provided by the employee. The Division of Human Resources and Legal Affairs will also decide on individual cases in this regard.

Days of leave already taken to care for children based on the April 16, 2020 circular will be deducted from this total amount of leave you are entitled to.

A further change is the extension of the possibilities of leave of absence in the context of employees providing the required care for relatives in need of care. In this case it is also possible to take 20 working days – based on a five-day week – off from work under a non-tariff agreement, with continued payment of remuneration. In addition to the above-mentioned prerequisites, the relative in need of care must live permanently, or due to the closure of the care facility, in the household of the employee providing care. In exceptional cases of hardship, further leave from work may be granted beyond the limit of 20 working days (based on a 5-day week) with continued payment of remuneration in accordance with Section 21 of the TV L, in the case of single parents with legal custody for a total of up to 67 working days (in each case based on a 5-day week).

For civil servants, the above applies to the same extent. Until further notice, please use the applications posted on the web.

You can find the respective request forms on the University of Potsdam’s Intranet pages or in these PDF files (Request for leave of absence to care for children and Request for leave of absence to care for relatives in need of care).

Business trips within Germany or abroad can only be approved if they are absolutely necessary for urgent business matters and if the current travel warnings, hygiene regulations and entry requirements of the respective countries or areas are observed. Employees must ensure adherence to the SARS-CoV-2 quarantine ordinance. Any costs incurred with regard to SARS-CoV-2 testing in the context of business trips will be borne by the employer.

Alternative means of communication, such as video and telephone conferences, must continue to be given priority.

If it is unavoidably necessary to go on a business trip, the business trip should be carried out in an official vehicle without additional passengers or in a private car, i.e. all official hygiene instructions must be observed within the scope of reasonable safety measures. Employees with symptoms are not obliged to go on a business trip, employees who belong to a risk group are only obliged to do so in the most exceptional cases. If symptoms of COVID-19 occur during a business trip, immediate quarantine and termination of the business trip is mandatory according to the RKI guidelines. The same applies if symptoms occur after a business trip or if contact to an infected patient has been confirmed.

For financial obligations that arise from bookings made on the basis of existing business trip authorizations, please use any available cancellation options; if this does not succeed, please settle them as you would business trips that took place.

The pandemic plan of the University of Potsdam can be found here as a PDF file.

The university management and the staff council for academic and artistic staff members have published an “Explanatory Leaflet by the University of Potsdam on the Recognition of Pandemic-Related Burdens on Academic Staff Members.” You can find it here.

In addition, there is "Updated information on the amendment of the Wissenschaftszeitvertragsgesetz (WissZeitVG)" of 12 October 2020 here.

Application advisory services and processing at D1 will take place by telephone and e-mail, preferably by appointment, presumably until April 19, 2020. Please be aware that due to a very high number of applications, longer processing times may be necessary. As usual, you can find our contact details for all questions regarding research funding and your third-party funding applications here: https://www.uni-potsdam.de/de/forschung/forschungsfoerderung/service-und-kontakt

Significant changes/delays and their financial impact on the projects must be reported to the provider of the external funds (obligation to notify).

Written correspondence with the funding provider, such as requests for funds and interim statements, should also be sent out a second time via e-mail by the respective department whenever possible. Due to the current emergency on-site operations, the D4 can only handle such matters in individual cases. Please make arrangements with the responsible staff member in the D4.

The providers of funds are currently still proceeding differently with regard to the handling of the Covid-19 consequences. This concerns, for example, the ability to deduct cancellation costs or the suspension or extension of deadlines, etc. Please review this for each individual case. Especially for projects that will end shortly, you may need to apply for an extension of the runtime (by e-mail and by regular mail) in time.

See for example a recent letter from the German Research Foundation and the information from D1 on EU research funding including a link to the European Commission’s FAQs.

For travelling and events, it is advisable to check the booking conditions with regard to a possible cancellation and the associated cancellation costs and to arrange them as flexible as possible. This serves the cost-effective use of funds required of us by the funding provider. In addition, special provisions of the funding provider regarding the eligibility for funding or recognition of any cancellation costs must be observed.

Due to the current corona situation, events or business meetings have already been or will be cancelled. In this context we would like to point out that necessary additional costs and expenses for travel preparations can of course be reimbursed.

The basis for this is section 10 paragraph 2 BRKG (federal law on travel expenses): “If a business trip is canceled for a reason for which the employee is not responsible, expenses incurred by the preparation and to be covered under this law will be reimbursed.”

In all cases, however, the possibility of cancelation must first be reviewed. According to the relevant administrative regulations, business travellers must "do everything in their power to keep the costs incurred as low as possible immediately after becoming aware of the obstacles for the trip. Any obligations already made must be cancelled as far as possible". (No. 10.2.1 Bbg BRKGVwV)

For railway tickets, an additional goodwill regulation by Deutsche Bahn (https://www.bahn.com/en/view/home/help/corona.shtml?dbkanal_007=L14_S02_D002_KIN0063_INT-_CORONA-Teaser_LZ01) applies in addition to the known cancelation conditions. Before submitting a claim for the aforementioned expenses in the case of railway tickets, please check whether they can be fully or partially refunded in this way.

Please note: In cases where travel vouchers have been issued by Deutsche Bahn for cancelations, please note that the expenses made can be reimbursed in accordance with section 10 paragraph 2 BRKG, but the vouchers must be used for future business trips. Private use of these travel vouchers is not permitted. The conditions for redeeming Deutsche Bahn travel vouchers are available via the following link: https://www.bahn.de/en/view/booking-information/booking/redeeming-cancellation-vouchers.shtml.

Guidelines for travel expense reports

In travel expense reports, receipts that show the respective costs must be marked as expenses for travel preparations (“Auslagen für Reisevorbereitungen”). If necessary, the receipts must be accompanied by an explanation. Please always indicate whether you have reviewed the cancelation options. Once the travel expense report has been approved by the supervisor, the official necessity will be considered as given even for trips that were only being prepared. A separate form for travel expense reports has been created for trips that did not take place. It can be accessed via the following link in the Intranet:

https://www.intern.uni-potsdam.de/u/dezernat3/formulare/pdf/corona - stornierungen.pdf