New regulation situation October 2021

Dear University Members,

The CAU is following the federal government's call for a return to on-site lectures in compliance with the existing and updated hygiene concepts. As the vaccination rate rises, it is aspired to gradually restore normality in university life, and to make working on-site the norm again. In the following, we would like to inform you about which measures apply in offices, laboratories and workshops. For detailed information, please visit the section "Information for employees" on the CAU's Corona website.

Working on-site and home office

Working on-site should be the norm again. However, the familiar AHA+L measures still apply.

The obligation to wear a medical or FFP2 mask remains in all indoor areas until reaching a permanent seat or workplace, and in areas where the minimum distance cannot be maintained.

Employees are requested to keep track of their attendance and used facilities for contact tracing is no longer applicable. This also applies to the mandatory documentation of people who temporarily stay in the facilities (institutes, departments, etc.).

Consideration of immunisation status

According to the SARS-CoV-2 Occupational Health and Safety Ordinance, the vaccination or recovery status of employees can be taken into account when determining and implementing the measures of occupational infection control within the framework of the risk assessment. However, the employer, i.e. the particular supervisors/managers, must not actively inquire about the immunisation status. An already known status can, however, be considered in work planning. This means: compliance with the AHA+L measures may be dropped if the risk of virus transmission is low. This is the case when:

• all workers are fully vaccinated or recovered; and
• there is no occupational contact of vaccinated or recovered employees with persons who are neither fully vaccinated nor recovered.

This means, by implication, that the AHA+L measures are always adhered to

• if not everyone in a work unit is fully vaccinated or recovered, or the vaccination or recovery status of employees is not known, or
• occupational contact occurs with persons who have not been fully vaccinated or recovered.

Special protection must be given to workers who cannot be vaccinated for health reasons. In this context, we again strongly encourage those colleagues who have so far refrained from vaccination for personal reasons to take advantage of the existing free offer of self-testing in the office at least twice a week. By doing so, you contribute to protect your own and your colleagues health.

It is still possible to use the home office option in agreement with the supervisor. In addition, the already known tools (flexible working hours) allowing greater flexibility during work time are available.

Further information on home office and on-site activities

Advice centres

Consultations and office hours of the CAU institutions, e.g. the examination offices, may be provided on-site. This applies under the condition general hygiene rules are observed and facilities allow the minimum distances during consultation and in waiting areas. The particular institutions provide information about this on their websites.

Business trips

At present, business trips take place in accordance with the legally applicable regulations. Due to the fact that the pandemic is not yet over, all members of the CAU are asked to refrain from business trips that are not absolutely necessary for official purposes. An exemption is still required for business trips to countries and regions that are considered risk areas or high incidence areas or virus variant areas according to the RKI.

Further information on business travel regulations and the use of the CAU vehicle fleet

Meetings and business meetings, committee meetings

Meetings and business meetings can again be held in presence, provided that the general hygiene rules and the minimum distances between participants are observed. If external guests take part in these meetings, all participants are encouraged to provide 3G-proof on a voluntary basis.

Committee meetings are again possible in attendance, given general hygiene rules and minimum distances are observed. However, it is still recommended to use video conferencing.

Official gatherings of a more social nature, such as Christmas parties, are subject to the regulations for "non-teaching events". We are in the process of updating the information on such get-togethers.

Job interviews

Interviews can be conducted as video conferences or face-to-face meetings, provided that the general hygiene rules and in particular minimum distances between participants are observed at the venue. For handouts and checklists please follow the link below.

Further information on conducting interviews

We are expecting a challenging winter semester – and there will be many steps back into the much-missed attendance. For many of us, this may involve mixed feelings. The multitude of new measures for the different areas of our university may initially appear confusing and sometimes even contradictory: on-site lectures require 3G proof; at the workplace, the immunisation status can be taken into account if known, yet enquiries about said status must not take place. As in previous semesters our patience and understanding, but above all our consideration for our colleagues, is once again required. And certainly a fair amount of patience if the workflows during the first few weeks are running not as smoothly as pre-pandemic.

Kind regards,

Claudia Ricarda Meyer,
Chancellor