• Working from home will remain the rule until 31 December 2021. After that, working from home will require an individual agreement in accordance with the service agreement on mobile working.

• Work on campus ready also possible now, if (1) official business requires it or (2) if employees would like to work on campus and this has been agreed with their manager or supervisor.

• The use of offices by more than one person must still be reduced to the necessary minimum. In this case, special protective measures are required, which must be documented in a risk assessment.

More information is available in the Guideline Work.

Employers must/may only check if employees are either vaccinated, tested, or recovered from COVID-19 (3G) if it is required for a job-related activity. Examples include:

• Faculty and lecturers teaching face to face
• Employees returning to work for the first time after at least 5 days of leave.
• Analogous to the return of leave, the 3G status must be checked on the first day of attendance (for new hires).

If 3G is not required, the employer may not ask about testing, immunization, or recovery status.
If the employer learns of vaccination or recovery status on such an occasion, or if employees voluntarily share it, this information may be stored and used to establish and implement workplace coronavirus protection measures. However, the employer does not have a general right to ask employees about their vaccination or recovery status outside of the cases described above.

More information is provided in the Corona-Arbeitsschutzverordnung and the Corona-Schutzverordnung NRW.

Official meetings are no longer subject to approval (e.g. work meetings, committee meetings, etc.). However, occupational health and safety regulations must be observed. These include:

• The organizer must ensure ‘3G’ control upon entry.
• If there are more than 15 people in the room, masks must be worn. If there are fewer than 15 people, the event management decides on this.
• Official meetings may only take place in well-ventilated rooms. As a rule of thumb, rooms may be occupied at 60% of maximum capacity.
• No contact tracing is required at this time.

More information is available in the Guideline Work.

Business trips (including excursions) to Germany or abroad will again be approved by the manager through the regular official channels as of 18.09.2021.
Exception: For business trips to international high-risk areas or virus variant areas, an unavoidable necessity must be demonstrated. Such business trip requests must be submitted to the Rector or Chancellor via the manager or supervisor.

As a general rule, business travel should still be planned and conducted with prudence. Quarantine measures may be required upon return, depending in part on vaccination status. Therefore, we recommend that you do not return directly to camous after your return, but rather, if possible, plan to work from home for a few days.

More information is available in the Guideline Work and in the Corona-Einreise-Verordnung.

Events with external guests are no longer subject to approval. However, the legal regulations provide for a number of protective measures that the event organizer must ensure are observed. These include:

• Events may only take place in certified rooms. Here, too, the rule of thumb currently applies that rooms may be used to a maximum of 60 % of their maximum capacity. Please note that the rooms are made available at the University with priority for teaching and examinations.
• Only vaccinated, tested, or recovered persons are admitted. This must be ensured by the event management.
• A coronavirus risk assessment (GBU) must be prepared and presented upon request. Staff Unit 02.2 (Occupational Health and Safety) provides advice.
• If there are more than 15 people indoors, masks are compulsory. If there are less than 15 persons, the event management decides.
• All other detailed questions arise from the currently applying coronavirus protection regulations of the state or the federal government.

Coronavirus infections no longer need to be reported to the Prevention Office.
However, as usual, employees should inform their supervisor as well as the Human Resources Department.
However, employees are required to notify their manager and Human Resources if they are quarantined.

More information is provided in the Guideline Work.

A house ban in all buildings and rooms used by the University applies to persons (i) for whom a quarantine is ordered by law or by an authority, or (ii) who have a suspected or uncertain coronavirus infection, e.g., cough, fever, cold, and loss of smell and taste. Additional details: https://am.uni-koeln.de/e34120/am_mitteilungen/@78/AM_2021-79_HausverboteCovid_ger.pdf, in force until 30 March 2022.
 

You may find further FAQ here.