Employees

Dear colleagues,

As you will have heard, the federal and state governments have extended or tightened the Corona regulations initially until February 14, 2021 - it remains very important to minimize contacts!

Working in a home office even more than before, wherever possible, is therefore of utmost importance:

As much home office as possible, as little presence as possible.

In its cabinet meeting on Wednesday, the German government passed the SARS-CoV-2-Arbeitsschutzverordnung. All employees are to work from home on a mobile basis wherever possible, in consultation with their supervisor. The only exceptions to this is work that absolutely must take place on site. We therefore urge all supervisors once again to review the possibility of working from home for their employees and to apply it. If, in your view, the job is not suitable for mobile working in whole or in part under any circumstances, you must justify this in writing to your employees upon request.

I assume that everyone is proceeding with common sense and an awareness that this pandemic requires appropriate action.

In case of doubt, affected employees who are denied mobile working, even though it seems possible, should please contact me or our human resources manager, Ms. Kleinewig.

Masks are compulsory!

• The wearing of a simple mouth-nose covering continues to apply, especially in the corridors, also for mandatory presence meetings and all meetings in presence for the entire duration of the event.
• Even if more than one person is present in the room, the mask obligation applies in principle.
• Exemptions apply in cases when offices that have to be used by more than one person due to a lack of alternatives, provided that the other safety measures are observed (distance regulation, regular ventilation, suitable partitions such as plexiglass panes, etc.).

Further information can also be found at:

https://www.bmas.de/DE/Schwerpunkte/Informationen-Corona/Fragen-und-Antworten/Fragen-und-Antworten-ASVO/faq-corona-asvo.html

Medical masks

For your protection, we are now providing FFP2 masks for employees who continue to work on site. You can pick them up from Mr. Schramm (-4878) or have them sent to you by internal mail. Please understand that we limit this to 2 pieces per person. Multiple use is possible, we will publish further information on our homepage. 

In addition, the Federal Cabinet has now decided to extend the entitlement to children's sick pay (Kinderkrankengeld) in accordance with § 45 SGB V. As mentioned, you would have to contact your health insurance for this.

The regulations described in my E-Mail of 14.12.2020 on Flexible Working Hours for Childcare due to the extended lockdown also continue to apply unchanged.

All other published regulations on distance, hygiene, ventilation, etc. also continue to apply, of course.

Please contact us if you have any questions or need support.

All the best and best regards
Irene Strebl

What support is there for balancing work and family life?

• Take advantage of our flexible working time arrangements (Monday to Friday from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturdays from 6 a.m. to 1 p.m.) to possibly alternate with your partner.
• In consultation with your superiors, take advantage of the option of mobile working/home office, see the information sheet on mobile working.
• Make use of your flexitime accounts, it is also possible to build up minus hours! Our special Corona working time regulations will initially continue to apply until 30.06.2021 www.tu-clausthal.de/fileadmin/TU_Clausthal/dokumente/Corona/20200313_Abweichende_Arbeitszeitregelungen_Corona.pdf This also means that the lower limit of normally 20 minus hours and 60 plus hours is suspended. The time credit must be rebuilt or reduced no later than 09/30/21 so that the hours are back within the upper/lower limits.
• Also, use your (remaining) vacation.

In cases of hardship, please contact our Human Resources Department so we can work together to find a solution.

What other assistance is available to employees who are temporarily unable to work due to childcare and who suffer a loss of earnings as a result?

If it is not possible to find alternative childcare, the following options are available:

Claim for compensation according to § 56 Infection Protection Act (IfSG).

Section 56 IfSG provides that parents receive compensation in cash if they are unable to work due to the care of their child (under 12 years of age) as a result of a school or day-care centre closure or due to the care of their child with disabilities and therefore suffer a loss of earnings, i.e. have to take unpaid leave or be granted unpaid leave of absence. The regulation is currently valid until 31.03.2021.

On application, you are entitled to compensation of 67% of the loss of earnings incurred for a maximum of 10 weeks per parent (single parents up to 20 weeks), limited to a maximum monthly amount of EUR 2,016.

The compensation will be paid if you do not have any reasonable care options and you are not paid a salary. If you can reasonably be expected to work on a mobile basis, you are not entitled to compensation. In addition, you should first deduct credit hours and vacation leave from the previous year. There is no entitlement if a closure would take place anyway because of school or nursery holidays.

If you would like to apply for compensation under Section 56 IfSG, please contact Ms Mauer in Department 3.

Further information can also be found at:

https://ifsg-online.de/index.html

https://www.bmas.de/DE/Schwerpunkte/Informationen-Corona/Sozialschutz-Paket/sozialschutz-paket.html

Extended child sickness benefit according to § 45 SGB V

As a new regulation, the legal possibilities for the so-called "children's sick pay" are also to apply to child care during the lockdown. Therefore, the entitlement period is to be extended in 2021 by 10 additional days per parent to then annually up to 20 days per parent (40 days for single parents). If you would like to make use of this children's sick pay, you would not receive a salary from the TU Clausthal for these times, but the children's sick pay from the statutory health insurance. You should therefore clarify in advance with your health insurance fund the amount of children's sick pay that will be paid and what evidence is required for the application. Our personnel department will be happy to assist you. According to our information, the health insurance funds are currently still waiting for the new legal regulations to be formulated. As soon as we know details about the exact procedure, we will publish this information on our homepage.

Special regulations apply to civil servants, please contact Ms Wentzel in Department 3.

Dear colleagues,

As you certainly know already, the German Chancellor and the Prime Ministers have extended the lockdown until January 31, 2021. Schools and daycare centers are to remain closed or offer only limited operations until at least the end of January.

Due to this situation, the Flexible Work options described in my mail of Dec. 14, 2020 will continue to apply. You can also find them on our homepage.

Working in presence should only take place where it is indispensable. In particular, parents with children up to the age of 12 should be generously granted mobile working so that they can care for their children at home. If mobile working is not possible and you have children under 12 to care for, please use your vacation and flextime accounts; it is also still possible to build up minus hours.

New "children's sick pay" („Kinderkrankengeld“) regulation:

As a new regulation, the legal options for the so-called "Kinderkrankengeld" shall also apply to childcare during the lockdown. In addition, the duration is to be extended in 2021 by 10 additional days per parent to then up to 20 days per parent annually (40 days for single parents). If you would like to make use of this, you would not receive a salary from TU Clausthal for these period, but the children's sick pay from your health insurance. You should therefore clarify in advance with your health insurance the amount of „Kinderkrankengeld“ that you will be paid and what evidence must be provided for the application. Our Human Resources department /Dezernat 3) will be happy to assist you. At this point, however, the health insurances are currently still waiting for the new legal regulations. As soon as we know the details of the exact procedure, we will publish this information on our homepage.

Separate regulations apply to civil servants (Beamte); please contact Ms. Wentzel in Department 3.

Finally, please note the following: Due to the extended lockdown, events in presence are in principle still prohibited at the TU Clausthal until further notice.

Our Vice President for Studies and Teaching, Prof. Brenner, will contact you again in the coming week regarding the upcoming exams.

Please contact us if you have any questions or need assistance.

Kind regards and best wishes to all of you for a good 2021!
Irene Strebl

Important note: The regulations from 29.10. still apply. Events in presence are generally prohibited until further notice.

Information for employees on the lockdown from 16.12.2020 - flexible work hours for child care in lockdown:

Dear colleagues,

As you will have heard from the news, the federal and state governments have decided on further measures to contain the spread of the Corona virus. From Wednesday, 16.12.2020, a further lockdown will come into force.

In Lower Saxony, compulsory attendance at schools has already been suspended as of today (14.12.). From Wednesday on at the latest, pupils and daycare children throughout Germany are to stay at home whenever possible for an initial period of three and a half weeks, i.e. until the end of the school vacation on 10 January 2021. Exceptions and emergency care are to be possible.

We would like to inform you once again about the possibilities with which TU Clausthal supports you in organizing care for your children during this time:

• Take advantage of our flexible flexitime framework (Mondays to Fridays from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturdays from 6 a.m. to 1 p.m.) to possibly alternate with your* partner.
• Use the option of mobile working/home office in consultation with your superiors, see the information sheet on mobile working.
• Use your flexitime accounts - it is also possible to build up minus hours! Our special Corona working time regulations will continue to apply until 28.2.2021 https://www.tu-clausthal.de/fileadmin/TU_Clausthal/dokumente/Corona/20200313_Abweichende_Arbeitszeitregelungen_Corona.pdf .
  This also means that the limit of normally 20 minus hours is suspended.
• Use your vacation days, from the beginning of January also the new annual leave for 2021.
• I expressly ask all supervisors to support the flexible solutions outlined above.
• In special problem cases, please contact our HR department so that we can find a solution together.

Dear colleagues, this is a really difficult time for many of us.

At the same time, however, there is obviously no alternative to the measures, so we must all try our best. Please let us know if you need any help.

I wish you and your families all the best for the next few weeks and a Merry Christmas. And when we wish each other "a happy new year" soon at the turn of the year, I guess it has a very special meaning this time.

Best wishes
Yours
Irene Strebl

You can find answers to frequently asked questions here.

Hand disinfectants were centrally procured for the employees* and can be requested by telephone from Mr. Schramm (-4878).

Dear colleagues,

You have surely noticed: Unfortunately, the number of infections with the Sars-Cov2 virus is constantly rising. Since yesterday, the 7-day incidence also for Landkreis Goslar is of over 40, which is why the district of Goslar has enacted various measures, such as the compulsory wearing of masks at certain outdoor locations, including Adolph Roemer Strasse and Marktkirchenplatz in Clausthal-Zellerfeld. You can find more detailed information here.

Furtheron, the federal and state governments yesterday decided yesterday in Berlin that all personal contacts must be kept to a minimum in November to break this wave of infection.

Today, the TU Clausthal Krisenstab discussed which measures and decisions are necessary for TU Clausthal. Of course we would like to support the efforts and do our utmost to ensure that the measures are successful. Now solidarity is needed! At the same time, of course, we want to do our best to ensure teaching, research and administrative operations.

From Monday, November 3 to Monday, November 30, 2020, the following applies:

• Personal contacts must be kept to an absolute minimum. Please use the telephone or video conferencing solutions for discussions among colleagues, service meetings, committee meetings, etc.  
• In consultation with your supervisor, please make use of mobile work from home where possible and sensible! Our leaflet on mobile working  still applies:
• Work in presence should not take place in double offices if possible, possibly in alternating shifts using the full flexitime framework. In any case, the rules of distance must always be observed!
• Events in presence are generally prohibited until 30.11.2020.
• Sports activities and rehearsals of choir and orchestra are unfortunately not possible. The outdoor facilities remain accessible for individual sports.

Furthermore, more than ever before:

• Distance, mask, ventilation and hand washing remain the most effective measures! If a Corona case is confirmed and the hygiene measures have not been strictly adhered to, the contact persons will have to be quarantined.
• Information on hygiene measures can be found in our General Hygiene Concept.
• Furthermore, our access restrictions to the buildings continue to apply.
• Please refrain from business trips that are not urgently necessary. The decision as to whether a business trip must be carried out will continue to be made by the respective supervisor.

- Please take any symptoms associated with the coronavirus seriously and contact your doctor if in doubt.  Please stay at home if you notice any symptoms of illness in yourself or a person in your household that indicate corona infection and contact your doctor by telephone. You will find more information on our website.

- If you have tested positive for Covid-19, please inform your supervisor and the personnel department (Dezernat 3) immediately!

- You can find answers to frequently asked questions here. They are continuously updated.

- Important: An e-mail on studies and teaching will be sent to students and teaching staff by the Vice President Prof. Brenner shortly.

If you have any questions, please contact me or my assistant Alexandra Springer, alexandra.springer@tu-clausthal.de .

Kind regards and all the best!
Irene Strebl

Ladies and gentlemen,

now autumn is coming and the pandemic continues. Again and again, we in the crisis team adapt our regulations to developments or deal with newly emerging issues.

We have updated our General Hygiene Concept and the access restrictions, both of which are now available on our homepage:

https://www.tu-clausthal.de/fileadmin/TU_Clausthal/dokumente/Corona/Allgemeines_Hygienekonzept.pdf

https://www.tu-clausthal.de/fileadmin/TU_Clausthal/dokumente/Corona/20201006_Zutrittsbeschraenkung_TUC.pdf

In addition to the well-known "AHA principles" 1. distance - 2. hygiene - 3. everyday masks, it is now well known that regular airing is of utmost importance - especially, of course, when there are several people in the room. We should remember this and act accordingly, even in the colder season to come!

In addition, the following adjustments to the labour law regulations apply with immediate effect:

• In the event of illness, a certificate of incapacity to work (AU) must be submitted again from the 4th day in future.
• Exceeding the 60 hour limit is still possible until 31.12.2020 upon request and in consultation with the supervisor. Please plan in such a way that by the end of March 2021 at the latest, you have reduced your plus hours to such an extent that you are again below the upper limit. If the time credit is exceeded by more than 60 hours, no further crediting to the time credit will be made from 1.4.2021 onwards.

Our top priority continues to be to do our utmost to minimize the risk of further spread of the corona virus through our measures - and at the same time to perform our duties in the best possible way.

Thank you all for continuing to take our regulations seriously, even though the pandemic has been going on for so long. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.

Best regards

Your

Irene Strebl