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

The quarantine requirements stipulated in the SARS-CoV-2 quarantine ordinance have been lifted as of May 19, 2021.

However, transitional regulations apply to persons who entered the territory of the State of Brandenburg before May 13, 2021:  For these persons, the previous quarantine requirements of the SARS-CoV-2 quarantine ordinance continue to apply for 14 days after entry, i.e., depending on the individual case, until 26.05.2021 at the latest.

Under these regulations, persons who enter the state of Brandenburg by land, sea, or air from a private or business trip from abroad and who have been in a designated risk area at any time in the ten days prior to entry are generally required to go into self-quarantine immediately after entry by direct route and to remain in isolation there permanently, unless they can present a negative test result that is no more than 48 hours old to the competent health authority.

Easing and exemptions stipulated in the COVID-19 protective measures - regulation of exceptions (“Schutzmaßnahmen-Ausnahmeverordnung”)  for vaccinated and recovered persons remain unaffected.

In the event that isolation becomes necessary, the employing agency will order you to work from home/telework or flexible workplace arrangements as a precautionary measure for a period 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 given time off from work or released from duty. You will continue to receive your salary or remuneration.

The Robert Koch Institute recommends that affected persons avoid unnecessary contact and, if possible, stay at home. If you develop a fever, cough, or shortness of breath, you should also follow the coughing and sneezing etiquette as well as 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 significantly increase the number of child sick days again this year in accordance with Section 45 (2a) of the German Social Code Book V due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Following another amendment, with retroactive effect from the beginning of 2021, 30 sick days can be taken per child and parent in the future instead of the previous 10 or 20. For multiple children, the maximum is 65 days. For single parents, the entitlement increases to 60 days per child, with a maximum of 130 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 (no. 2). The latter can therefore be claimed only once all child sick days have been exhausted!

Based on this arrangement, employees who have private health insurance or whose sick children are not covered by family insurance are also granted leave for childcare in accordance with the provisions of Section 45 (2a) of the German Social Code (SGB V). As remuneration continues to be paid in full, the number of days of leave is reduced accordingly.

To make use of this option, an informal application must be submitted to Division 3 via the employee's supervisor with reference to these regulations.

This non-tariff entitlement also has priority over the entitlements for leave of absence regulated below.

• Possibilities for leave of absence

a) Caring for children

The following regulations are based on the regulations on loss of earnings according to the Infection Protection Act, Section 56 IfSG. These are linked to the declaration of an epidemic situation of national proportions by the German Bundestag, which was declared on March 28, 2021. The state's options for leave of absence replace a claim for loss of earnings under the Infection Protection Act (10 weeks at 67% of net salary).

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 item 1 above for the prerequisites ) available, it has been possible since March 28, 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. This is irrespective of whether it is possible to work from home or not. It is also possible to take half days off.

For single parents, the entitlement is increased accordingly: up to 67 working days with continued payment of remuneration and a further 33 working days without continued payment of remuneration. The number of working days is based on a 5-day workweek and is reduced accordingly if the weekly working hours are distributed differently.

The entitlement has newly arisen with the declaration of an epidemic situation of national proportions by the German Bundestag as of March 28, 2021. The scope of the options for leave is always based on a maximum of one year of the epidemic situation. Days of leave for childcare already taken on the basis of previous regulations are therefore no longer relevant and are not taken into account. Therefore, a transfer of days from the previous entitlement period is also not possible.  

For civil servants, the above applies to the same extent.

b) Caring for relatives in need of care

Irrespective of this, the options for leave in the context of providing the necessary care for relatives in need of care remain unchanged. 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.

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.

Until further notice, please use the forms provided on the university’s website. 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).

As of July 1, 2021, the pre-pandemic regulations for business trip requests will once again apply to business trips to non-risk areas. If business trips are to be made to risk areas, then a justification of the urgency and necessity of the official business and its non-deferrability is required. Requests should be addressed to the Department of Human Resources and Legal Affairs for review and approval. Entry requirements and hygiene regulations of the respective countries and areas must be observed. Until further notice, business trips to high-incidence areas and virus-variant areas will not be approved under any circumstances.

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.

An additional vaccination offer (BioNTec) has become available via the university's company doctor. This offer is available to all employees of the university as of now. However, due to the limited quantities of vaccine and the limited vaccination appointments, this offer is only intended as a supplement to the other vaccination options (e.g. at general practitioners and vaccination centers).

Please also note: For legal reasons, the company doctor is only allowed to vaccinate employees of the university. Visiting/ associate lecturers, students (apart from WHK) or external cooperation partners and service providers are therefore not included in the group of those who can be vaccinated in this process.

Please find the registration form under this link. If you want to register, please send the completed form by e-mail to arbeitsmedizinuni-potsdamde.They will schedule the appointments one by one after reviewing the registration forms. Depending on the availability of the vaccine, there may be waiting periods. Therefore, as long as you have not received a vaccination appointment with our company doctor, you are advised not to wait for a vaccination at the UP, but to use all vaccination opportunities that are available, e.g. at vaccination centers or with your general practitioner.

Here are some other details:

• It is not possible to postpone individual appointments; you can only make the first and second appointments together.
• Employees who have already received a first vaccination somewhere else cannot register with the company doctor for the second vaccination!
• When you cancel an appointment, it will be given to another person.
• Note on vaccination after recovering from a COVID-19 infection: The risk of re-infection is very low in the first months after a confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection, but may increase over time. Administration of a single dose of the vaccine is possible as early as 4 weeks after COVID-19 symptoms cease, for example, if there is exposure to future virus variants against which a previous SARS-CoV-2 infection no longer offers adequate protection (immune-escape variants). After a confirmed asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection, vaccination is possible as early as 4 weeks after the laboratory diagnosis. Please feel free to discuss your individual case with the university’s occupational health physician at arbeitsmedizinuni-potsdamde.

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