Interruptions to Work
As described above, the Flex Employment Agreement is tied to several conditions when it comes to your individual working hours. One of these conditions is that 50% of your individual working hours must be contained within your unit’s functional working hours (where this is mathematically possible). If this condition is met, it is generally possible to interrupt your work even during functional working hours. Two key factors in doing so are a) the length of functional working hours as determined by your unit and b) the number of hours that constitute 50% of your individual working hours. This means that there may be certain combinations that do not permit work to be interrupted. However, the Staff Council: Entire Freie Universität’s general statement asserting that work interruptions will not be possible is misleading as it does not apply to everyone.
In accordance with Section 29.1.f of TV-L FU, medical treatment generally has to take place outside working hours. You are entitled to time off with continued payment of wages only if the medical treatment has to take place during working hours. Employees should therefore try to schedule appointments outside working hours.
If you have an appointment during working hours, you should check whether – in the case of fixed working hours – it is possible to reschedule it or change your working hours accordingly. Employees have to accept rescheduling within reason. However, if the employer does not reschedule the working hours, leave of absence must be granted. In the case of flexible working hours, time off is only considered if the medical treatment can only take place during core working hours.
In the Flex Employment Agreement model, it is assumed that doctor’s appointments can be scheduled outside functional working hours or outside your individual working hours within this time frame (50% regulation) or as part of an interruption in working time.
Employees are protected and insured by statutory accident insurance for accidents while at work. However, this applies only if an accident occurs during an activity that is related to work. During lunch breaks, insurance coverage is provided for the route to the dining hall/canteen and back, for journeys outside the company for meals (e.g., to an external canteen, home, or a restaurant), and also for journeys to a supermarket to buy food for the workplace. However, there is no insurance cover for the time you spend in the canteen, a restaurant, or a supermarket, nor for when you leave company premises for private errands (e.g., weekly shopping or visits to the doctor) or walks and sporting activities during breaks. This is because the break time itself is not insured. In the event of an accident, your own health insurance will then pay for any treatment.
Whether by bicycle, on foot, by public transport, or by car: anyone going to work or on their way home is insured by the employers’ liability insurance association in the event of an accident. In principle, the shortest route is insured. However, the insurance coverage does remain in place if you are forced to take a different route, for example, due to certain travel situations (traffic jams, better transport connections, and weather conditions). If an insured person interrupts their journey to or from work for private reasons, insurance coverage resumes when they return to the direct route. Exception: the break lasts longer than two hours. The insurance coverage begins and ends at the outer door to the building where you live.
Employees working from home are also protected and insured by statutory accident insurance. However, the decisive factor here too is that the activities carried out are related to your work. For example, insurance coverage is provided when employees receive a package containing office supplies that they need for their work or when they collect work documents from the printer – even if it is located on a different floor. Employees are not insured though when they go into the kitchen to get a drink or receive a private package.