🏖️ Absences

Time tracking

Every team member with a contract has to track their working hours. This is mandated by German federal law. This includes student assistants (HiWis).

• Please use the timesheet template provided
• Carry over any overtime (positive) or undertime (negative) values in the Summe field into the next month
• The timesheets should be printed (A4) and handed in for signature by Peter during the first week of every month

Vacation

Every team member with a contract has a right to 30 days annual leave (pro rata) every year, plus the Berlin state holidays. Your vacation has to be approved by Peter and your remaining vacation days are tracked by Julia. If you have not booked any vacation this year, download this form, fill it in, and bring it to Julia.

Please announce your vacation plans in advance.

Only book your trip after Peter has approved it.

1. Discuss your vacation plans with Peter.
   • In general, your vacation will be approved without issue.
   • If there is an upcoming deadline, planned project meeting, or some other agreed appointment during your vacation time, we can try and work around the issue.
   • Please let Peter know in advance.
2. Send an email to Peter and Julia with your vacation request.
   • Include dates in your vacation request!
   • Peter will reply to that email approving the vacation.
   • Your vacation is now approved!
3. Mark your vacation in your Outlook Calendar.
   • Mark the time off as Out of Office.
4. See Julia about finalising the vacation records in the vacation book.
   • This has to be done in person and ideally before the vacation takes place.
   • The vacation dates in the book have to match those specified in the email.

Vacation from previous year has to be used by September.

Please use your vacation to prevent burn-out. Try to take most of your vacation days in the same calendar year. Unused vacation dates from previous year must be taken by September of the following year.

Sick leave

Figure 1: A sample “Arbeitsunfähigkeitsbescheinigung”. Highlight shows this redacted copy is for the employer.

Please do not come to work sick.

This is of course good for your own health, but it is especially important out of courtesy to your colleagues!

University regulations apply.

For more detail, see the latest circular from 14.02.2025.

1. If you’re not feeling well (and cannot do home-office), send an email to Peter and Julia.
   • Sickness has to be reported to Julia and Peter on the day you get ill, by 10:00.
   • If you think you’ll be back at work in a day or two, please say so in the email.
   • If you think you’ll be off for longer, please say so in the email!
   • You do not have to discuss the details of your absence with either of us. If you’re sick, you’re sick.
2. You have to see a doctor for medical absences longer than 3 days.
   • Ideally, you would go see a doctor on the first day of your absence.
   • Ask the doctor how your absence will be reported (digitally or by paper).
     • If digitally: The doctor will inform the insurance. TU Berlin will retrieve this from the insurance.
     • If by paper: Scan or hand in an “Arbeitsunfähigkeitsbescheinigung” to Julia. Make sure you send the copy for the employer, i.e. “Ausfertigung zum Vorlage beim Arbeitgeber”, see Figure 1.
   • The doctor may give you a copy of an “Arbeitsunfähigkeitsbescheinigung” for your records; keep this for yourself. Don’t send this copy to Julia or Peter, as it has private information.
3. If possible, mark your sick leave in your Outlook Calendar.
   • Mark the time off as Out of Office.
4. You have to let Julia know once you’re back at work.
   • Send Julia an email on the first day you’re working after sickness (even if home-office).
   • Julia will inform HR that you are back in office.

Improperly reported sick leave affects your pay!

If you are absent for 3 or more days, and do not have a doctor’s note, your insurance won’t pay you. If you do not report the exact start and end of your absence, TU Berlin won’t know which days to pay you. Repeated failure to report sick leave may result in disciplinary action.

Take care of yourself.

Mental health is as important as physical health. The above section also applies in principle to absences due to poor mental health (including burn-out, depression, anxiety, etc.).

You can always approach Peter, but if you are not comfortable with that:

• The university offers confidential counselling with a waiting time of about 2-3 weeks.
• In acute cases, the Berliner Krisendienst offers a crisis service, and the university website has further resources.

Don’t be afraid to take some time off and seek support.

Winter closure

The university will be closed be from the morning of the Friday the 19th of December 2025 until and including the Monday the 6th of January 2026. During this time there will be:

• No access to the building.
• No access to the labs.
• No hot water in the building.

Note

Last working day with access to the lab is the Wednesday, the 17th of December 2025.

Note

The 6-monthly inspection of the lab is planned for the Monday, the 15th of December 2025.

Warning

Make sure the labs are left in a safe, tidy state before the winter closure.

In the days of Winter closure that are not public holidays, you can work remotely 100%, use your vacation days, or claim overtime compensation.

Home office

You are allowed up to 40% of remote work (i.e. 2 days a week), up to the discretion of your direct superior (Peter). However, you need to register for home office using the SAP system:

graph LR;
    s1["Administration & Faculties"] --> s2["Mobiles Arbeiten - Antrag"] --> s3["Neuer Antrag"] -.-> s4["Approval by Peter"] --> done["✅"];

Once registered, you are allowed to do Home Office without notifying Peter.

Your tasks - your responsibility!

Plan your work. Home office is useful for literature research and data work-up. If your tasks are mostly experimental, you might not be able to spend 40% of the time in home office!