Between
Technische Universität Braunschweig
represented by the President
and the
Staff Council of Technische Universität Braunschweig
represented by the Chairperson
the following TU Braunschweig/Staff Council Agreement, hereinafter also referred to as staff council agreement, is concluded in accordance with § 78 NPersVG (Niedersächsisches Personalvertretungsgesetz [Lower Saxony Staff Representation Act]) in conjunction with § 66 (1) No. 1 NPersVG in conjunction with the agreement pursuant to § 81 NPersVG on the principles of flexible working hours in the Lower Saxony state administration (flextime agreement) of April 23, 1999:
With this staff council agreement on working hours, TU Braunschweig and the Staff Council aim to meet the requirements of a modern university by making working hours more flexible, thereby contributing to a better work-life balance.
This increase in flexibility is accompanied by an increase in responsibility for both supervisors and employees, because the possibilities for flexible working hours are limited where the quality of service provided by the facilities of TU Braunschweig or the work processes of these facilities are impaired internally and externally.
The agreement pursuant to § 81 NPersVG on the principles of flexible working hours in the Lower Saxony State administration (flextime agreement) is hereby supplemented specifically for the situation at TU Braunschweig.
This agreement is based on the “Vereinbarung über die Grundsätze für die gleitende Arbeitszeit in der niedersächsischen Landesverwaltung (Gleitzeitvereinbarung)” [agreement on the principles of flexible working hours in the Lower Saxony State administration/flextime agreement] in the version republished on April 23, 1999 (Nds. MBl. p. 196 ff.) and the working time regulations of the Tarifvertrag für den öffentlichen Dienst der Länder [collective bargaining agreement for the public service of the states] (TV-L) as well as the State law provisions on working time for civil servants.
This agreement applies to all technical and administrative staff (MTV) at Technische Universität Braunschweig who are employees within the meaning of § 4 (1) of the NPersVG.
Members of the Executive Board are excluded, provided they belong to the status group of technical and administrative staff.
Occupational health and safety regulations, in particular the Niedersächsische Verordnung über die Arbeitszeit der Beamtinnen und Beamten [Lower Saxony Ordinance on Working Hours for Civil Servants] (Nds. ArbZVO), Arbeitszeitgesetz [Working Time Act] (ArbZG), Jugendarbeitsschutzgesetz [Act on the Protection of Young People at Work] (JArbSchG), Mutterschutzgesetz [Maternity Protection Act] (MuSchG), Sozialgesetzbuch IX – Rehabilitation und Teilhabe behinderter Menschen [Social Code IX – Rehabilitation and Participation of Disabled Persons] (SGB IX) and the Niedersächsisches Gleichbehandlungsgesetz [Lower Saxony Equal Treatment Act] (NGG) remain unaffected by this agreement.
(1) The generally applicable working hours are defined as the period from 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Working hours performed outside the general working hours after 8 p.m. may only be credited in exceptional cases if this is documented in writing by the supervisor together with a justification. To this purpose, a request for approval of night and weekend work has to be submitted to Department 12 in good time in advance, which will then be forwarded to the Staff Council for approval.
(2) The average working time of employees on working days may not exceed 8 hours. On individual days, up to 10 hours may be worked, provided that an average of 8 hours per working day is not exceeded within a 24-week period. Working more than 10 hours per day is only permitted in exceptional cases in accordance with § 14 ArbZG; the respective exception has to be noted by the supervisor on the monthly timesheet. Working more than 12 hours per day is not permitted.
(3) For civil servants, § 4 of the Lower Saxony Ordinance on Working Hours for Civil Servants (Nds. ArbZVO) applies; working hours should not exceed 10 hours per day and must not exceed 12 hours per day.
(4) For female employees who fall under the MuSchG and employees who fall under the JArbSchG, the daily working time may not exceed 8.5 hours.
(1) Extra hours for part-time employees pursuant to § 7 (6) TV-L or overtime hours for full-time employees pursuant to § 7 (7) TV-L may only be incurred if they are ordered by the employer and documented by the employees. Supervisors and employees have to ensure that the relevant requests for approval are submitted to Department 12 in good time before extra hours and overtime are worked. Authorized extra hours or overtime may be compensated with time off or, in exceptional cases, with remuneration.
(2) Additional hours worked as a result of ordered extra hours or overtime pursuant to paragraph 4 have to be recorded separately from accrued time credits within the framework of flexible working hours.
(1) Breaks do not count as working time. The legally required minimum break of 30 or 45 minutes does not count as working time even if it is not taken.
(2) The following applies to tariff employees: If working hours exceed six to nine hours, work has to be interrupted by breaks of at least 30 minutes. If the daily working time exceeds nine hours, work has to be interrupted for at least 45 minutes. The breaks may be divided into periods of at least 15 minutes each. Employees may not work for more than six consecutive hours without a break.
(3) The following applies to civil servants: A break of at least 30 minutes has to be granted after six hours of work at the latest. A postponement is only permissible for urgent work-related reasons. Civil servants who work more than nine hours a day should be allowed a total break time of at least 45 minutes if they so wish. Breaks can be divided into periods of 15 minutes each.
(4) If employees do not take the break scheduled after six hours because their shift is ending, the additional time worked beyond six hours (up to a maximum of 30 minutes) will not be taken into account.
This staff council agreement allowes for the following working time arrangements, based on the operational requirements of the various university institutions:
a) Flextime arrangements with fixed core hours
b) Flextime arrangements with fixed business hours (service hours)
c) A combination of working time arrangements
(1) When flextime is agreed, employees may determine the start and end of their daily working hours and the timing of breaks within a specified flextime framework (§ 4 (1)), taking into account specified core hours or agreed business hours and in accordance with operational requirements.
(2) In unforeseeable circumstances, the supervisor may issue orders that deviate from paragraph 1, insofar as and for as long as compelling operational reasons justify this. In this case, the working time framework specified in § 4 (1) may also be exceeded.
(3) The following provisions on flextime with fixed core hours or business hours within the working time framework of § 4 (1) of this agreement will apply.
(1) For flextime arrangements with fixed core hours, the following core hours generally apply:
a) Monday through Thursday
from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
and from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
b) Fridays, on working days before public holidays and before December 24 and 31
from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
(2) For part-time employees, core working hours will be determined on a case-by-case basis in consultation with their supervisor. Family circumstances shall be taken into account.
(3) Supervisors may, in individual cases, grant employees different core working hours for personal reasons for a limited period of time if this can prevent particular hardship.
(4) In justified exceptional work-related circumstances, core working hours may be temporarily suspended or rescheduled within an organizational unit or sub-unit, taking into account the specific circumstances. The supervisor has to inform employees of this in good time.
(1) If permanent business hours are to be established for facilities or organizational units or their subdivisions, the respective managers responsible for their respective organizational units or subdivisions will determine business hours based on opening or service hours and communicate these in an appropriate manner.
(2) Unlike flextime with fixed core hours, this means that the start and end of work for individual employees are also variable within the business hours. If business hours are specified, it is not necessary for all employees in the organizational unit to be present during those hours. Constant operational readiness has to be ensured in a needs-based, responsible, and equitable manner. Teams and groups with shared work tasks agree among themselves and with their supervisors on the necessary attendance to ensure service quality.
(3) The specification of business hours ensures that the facilities are accessible. During business hours, it should be possible, depending on requirements, to reach the desired contact person or another contact person, or at least leave a message, using technical equipment (e.g., call forwarding, answering machine). Within the scope of business hours, the aim is therefore to enable processing times that are as short and reliable as possible, an enhanced information service, and a demand-oriented approach.
(4) Employees of the institution or organizational unit have to be informed in good time prior to the introduction of business hours. When determining business hours, care should be taken to ensure that the flexibility of individual employees is not unduly restricted, particularly in order to take into account the aspect of family friendliness.
(5) Employees determine their working hours in a responsible and team-oriented manner, taking into account the service hours in the individual facilities or organizational units.
(6) Where necessary, the deployment of employees will be determined regularly and in good time in duty rosters by the respective management.
(7) Supervisors may agree on different business hours with employees for personal reasons in individual cases if this avoids particular hardship.
(1) The target working time to be used as the basis for calculating working time is one-fifth of the regular weekly working time for full-time employees and is generally to be worked over five working days from Monday to Friday. If part-time employees work less than five days per week, the target working hours are calculated accordingly. Deviating arrangements are possible in compliance with working time regulations. In the university library, work also has to be performed regularly on Saturdays according to the duty roster in order to ensure the provision of services.
(2) Paragraph 1 applies mutatis mutandis to part-time employees whose reduced working hours are distributed evenly over the five working days of the week. If the working days of the week are unevenly distributed, the weekly working time, which may be reduced by the time attributable to legally recognized weekly holidays, has to be used as a basis for determining time credits or deficit working hours. As a rule, the daily target working time is the working time specified for each day.
(1) Time credits or deficit hours resulting from the calculation of working hours in accordance with § 4 at the end of a calendar quarter have to be carried over to the following calendar quarter within the framework of the following paragraphs.
(2) Deficit hours at the end of the calendar quarter may not exceed 10 hours. With the prior consent of the supervisor, the permissible number of deficit hours for a calendar quarter may be extended to 20 hours in individual cases.
(3) Time credits may be carried over at the end of the calendar quarter up to a maximum of 40 hours. In official interest, a time credit of 60 hours may be transferred following a prior decision by the supervisor. The decision has to be recorded in writing. A carryover of more than 40 hours or, in the case of sentence 2, 60 hours is generally not permitted.
(4) Time credits exceeding 40 hours shall be reduced to a maximum of 40 hours no later than the sixth month following the end of the calendar quarter in which the time credits exceeding 40 hours were accrued. If it is foreseeable that compensatory time off will not be possible due to compelling work circumstances, the ordering of extra work or overtime has to be considered.
(5) Supervisors and employees have to ensure that time credits remain within the specified limits.
(6) Notwithstanding paragraph 3, sentence 4, time credits accrued for the closure period at the turn of the year may be carried over at the end of the third quarter up to a maximum of 70 hours. Notwithstanding paragraph 2, reduced working hours may be compensated for until June 30 of the following year.
(1) Employees may use up time credits in accordance with operational requirements and with the approval of their supervisors on an hourly, half-day, or daily basis as compensatory time. It is generally possible to combine several compensatory time days.
(2) With the approval of the supervisor, compensatory time may also be taken if no time credit is currently available. It has to be ensured that, by the end of the calendar quarter, deficit working hours do not exceed the scope of the provisions set out in paragraph 12 (2) (see above).
(3) If employees fall ill after commencing their approved compensatory time, it is not possible to re-credit the time credit claimed according to established case law of the Federal Labor Court.
(1) Working hours have to be recorded in a timesheet in accordance with the regulations applicable at the respective institution. If time recording devices are available, they have to be used. The recording period is the quarter of calendar year.
(2) Employees have to use the available technical time recording device:
a) when entering or leaving the building where their workplace is located at the start of work, at the end of work, and at the beginning and end of a break.
b) within the building where their workplace is located when visiting a dining facility or other social facility located there for a lunch break.
(3) If employees do not leave their workplace to take their 30-minute lunch break, time recording using a time recording device is not required. In this case, the start and end of the lunch break have to be entered manually.
(4) The same procedure applies to manual or electronically supported working time recording.
(5) Work on days off or non-working days may only be recorded and counted as working time following a prior decision by the employer.
(6) The time sheets have to be signed by the supervisors on a monthly basis and kept at the respective institutions for at least two years. Institutions of the central administration and designated offices have to forward the time sheets to Department 12 at the end of each calendar quarter.
(1) If work is started or ended outside the workplace building, the absence for work-related reasons is counted as working time and recorded accordingly. Time outside the specified working hours (§ 4 (1)) is not taken into account; § 4 (3) applies accordingly. The same applies if employees did not work at their regular workplace either before or after their absence. A maximum of 12 hours may be recorded as working time.
(2) For business trips, the procedure set out in paragraph 1 applies to the day of arrival and departure. On the remaining days, the scheduled working time is deemed to be working time; in the case of part-time employees, the corresponding duration of official duties up to the scheduled working time of full-time employees may be deemed working time.
(3) Time spent on local official business trips are counted as working time. However, this does not apply to travel time from home to the place of official business outside the place of work, or to travel time from the place of official business outside the place of work back home.
(4) If employees participate in full-day training events in the interests of their work with the consent of their supervisor, the respective target working time will be used as the basis for calculating working time. If part-time employees participate in full-day training events, the target working hours applicable to full-time employees will be counted as working hours. The provisions of paragraph 2, sentence 1 do not apply.
(5) In general, work has to be performed at the place of employment.
(6) Tasks within the scope of approved remote work or alternating telework may be performed outside the workplace. Details are regulated by the TU Braunschweig/Staff Council Agreements No. 47 on alternating telework and No. 49 on remote work.
(1) For private errands, the options available under the flexible working time arrangements (flextime, business time, compensatory time, and breaks) have to be used.
(2) In the case of vacation/holidays, illness, spa treatments, full-day special leave, full-day exemption from work, the target working time applicable to the respective day will be used as the basis for calculating working time. The same applies in the event of delayed commencement or premature termination of work due to acute illness.
(3) In the event of absence due to exemption from work on parts of a working day in accordance with the Sonderurlaubsverordnung [Special Leave Ordinance], only the missed core working hours may be counted as working time. If business hours have been established, the core hours specified in § 9 apply accordingly. In the case of half-day leave in accordance with § 3 (1) sentence 1 no. 3 in conjunction with sentence 2 Nds. SUrlVO, half of the scheduled working time has to be counted as working time.
(4) If, in the case of medical treatment, the employee's scheduling requests pursuant to paragraph 1 cannot be accommodated by the physician, exemption from work has to be granted during core working hours. For institutions with established business hours, the core hours specified in § 9 apply accordingly.
(5) Periods during which a mandate in a local representative body is exercised or priority legal obligations are fulfilled have to be counted as working time between the start of the morning and the end of the afternoon core working time, unless statutory provisions stipulate otherwise with regard to time off. For institutions with established business hours, the core hours specified in § 9 apply accordingly.
(6) In the event of exemption from service or work for fire-fighting, disaster, and civil protection operations or training events within the working time framework specified in § 4 (1), the duration of the necessary absence has to be counted as working time, but may not exceed the respective target working time.
(1) This agreement will enter into force on January 1, 2023. It may be terminated at the end of the year with three months' notice. In the event of termination of this agreement, it will remain in force until a new agreement is concluded. At the same time, Staff Council Agreement No. 36 dated May 8, 2015, ceases to be in force.
(2) If any provision of this agreement conflicts with higher-ranking law, the validity of the remaining provisions remains unaffected. The contracting parties undertake to replace any invalid provision with a valid provision that comes as close as possible to the invalid provision.
(3) The agreement will be published by the management of TU Braunschweig in an appropriate manner in accordance with § 78 (2) NPersVG.
Technische Universität Braunschweig
The President
Staff Council
of Technische Universität Braunschweig
The Chairperson