To
Subject: TU Berlin/Staff Council Agreement on Mobile Working
Dear Colleagues,
Working life changed fundamentally during the coronavirus pandemic. With the start of the first in-presence semester since the pandemic began, all staff at TU Berlin are now returning to work on campus. This also means you can use the option of mobile working for the first time. From 19 April, staff can work 40 percent of their hours per month remotely, in other words off campus.
This information letter provides a summary of the most important aspects and regulations for mobile working. You can read the full text of the TU Berlin/Staff Council agreement on mobile working here.
At a glance:
We would also like to inform you about the following:
Who is the agreement on mobile working for?
How does mobile working function at TU Berlin?
What are the differences between mobile working and teleworking?
Can I combine mobile working and teleworking?
How can I apply for mobile working?
If you experience any problems with the app in the TU Portal or if you have any questions, please contact mobilesarbeiten(at)tu-berlin.de.
What are the procedures for terminating mobile working?
Mobile working represents an opportunity to establish a new (working) culture at TU Berlin. It is important to reconcile the different demands - the personal wishes of staff members on the one hand and the requirements of TU Berlin as the employer on the other. Mobile working means that communication and mutual understanding within teams will be more important than ever.
We look forward to finally meeting you on campus again in the new semester.
Prof. Dr. Geraldine Rauch
Prof. Dr.-Ing. habil. Stephan Völker
Christian Schröder
Professor Dr. Sophia Becker
Lars Oeverdieck
Information Letter from the Executive Board of TU Berlin
Berlin, 14 April 2022
To: All staff
Subject: Mobile working: applications from 19 April 2022
Dear Colleagues,
Our aim is for us all to work together on campus again from 19 April 2022. We look forward to everyone getting together again in research labs, lecture halls, and offices.
But as part of this, we also want to ensure that we meet your expectations regarding flexible working arrangements. To do so, a TU Berlin/Staff Council agreement on mobile working was passed in June 2021. This agreement also represents the first time that Human Resources provides a digital workflow for an application process.
This digital workflow and the app it uses present challenges and we need your support to help us deal with these. The app will be accessible via the TU Portal and represents the first time we will be testing out a digital organizational depiction of our university. Among other things, this includes information about who supervises whom. A correct depiction of such information is essential for many other functions and can only be tested under real conditions. Despite our best efforts over the past weeks, there will undoubtedly be some problems after the app goes live on 19 April 2022. We will inform you about further details shortly.
We have set up a central email address for all your feedback and questions: mobilesarbeiten(at)tu-berlin.de. We would like to apologize for the delayed go-live and for any errors that may occur.
It is important for us to state here that your options for making use of the TU Berlin/Staff Council agreement on mobile working should not be restricted as a result of technical difficulties.
We have full confidence that every unit at the University will act with due responsibility. Agreements made independently between supervisors and staff are also binding until the application process using the app functions without any problems.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you for your cooperation. Without your support, it would not be possible to meet the wishes of many of our students by offering an in-presence semester again this summer. This is important for our students and something they are entitled to.
Let us work together to forge a new working culture at TU Berlin based on open and respectful communication and a cooperation built on mutual trust.
You can find further information about mobile working on our website.
We look forward to seeing you all on campus!
Prof. Dr. Geraldine Rauch
Prof. Dr.-Ing. habil. Stephan Völker
Christian Schröder
Professor Dr. Sophia Becker
Lars Oeverdieck
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Staff,
Today, we would like to share with you that TU Berlin is officially introducing mobile working as one of its instruments for flexible working. A few weeks ago, the TU Berlin Executive Board and staff councils signed an agreement enabling University staff to continue working remotely long term following the pandemic.
After submitting a brief request via the TU portal, staff can work remotely from anywhere outside of the University for up to 40% of their working hours.
You can find the TU Berlin/Staff Council agreement on mobile working online (currently only in German).
Please discuss the individual details about how to implement mobile working with your supervisor or manager.
The reference value for the amount of time you are permitted to work remotely is one month. In agreement with your supervisor, you can choose to work remotely for individual hours or days, fixed days each week, or even one week per month, up to a maximum of 40 percent of your working hours. It is not possible to work remotely for 40 percent of your annual working hours at a single time.
When adopting mobile working in your unit, it is important that you consider the needs and interests of each individual, the team, as well as the University as a whole. This instrument aims to address employee requests for greater flexibility and allow for a better balance between all areas of life.
As communicated in the most recent information letter from the Crisis Committee, the University continues to prioritize working from home wherever possible. This means that the maximum limit to mobile working as laid out in the TU Berlin/Staff Council agreement (40%) does not yet apply.
In addition, it will not be possible to formally request mobile working until the TU portal is once again accessible. We will inform you as soon as this changes so you can submit your digital request. Until such time, the current regulations regarding working from home during the pandemic remain in effect.
Once the situation permits in-presence operations at TU Berlin long term and the IT attack has been adequately resolved, TU Berlin will no longer recommend staff work from home. The Crisis Committee will inform you accordingly in a separate information letter.
If you would like to continue to work remotely part time, please familiarize yourself with the TU Berlin/Staff Council agreement and submit a request once the portal is accessible.
We ask all supervisors to also consider how hybrid work with team members on and off campus can be best realized. Talk to your team and make a plan.
TU Berlin will continue to operate the previously established teleworking instrument in addition to the new mobile working instrument.
All relevant information has been summarized online.
The TU Berlin Executive Board, 14 July 2021
Prof. Dr. Christian Thomsen
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Christine Ahrend
Prof. Dr. Hans-Ulrich Heiß
Lars Oeverdieck
Dear TU Members,
In the past months, many of you indicated your interest in continuing to partially work from home or elsewhere outside of TU Berlin after the pandemic has ended. Your input encouraged us to move forward with negotiations with the staff councils regarding mobile working.
In late June 2021, we signed an agreement which allows you to work a maximum of 40 percent of your monthly working hours away from the University. The exisiting agreement regarding teleworking continues to apply.
This new agreement and how it is applied will change our entire working culture. It offers advantages to TU Berlin as an employer and significantly improves employees' flexibility in organizing their workday. In particular, this agreement will improve our profile as an employer. We all benefit when employees find greater satisfaction in their work here and strengthen their commitment to TU Berlin. Of course, you also personally benefit from the time gained by no longer needing to commute. You can spend your time more valuably instead of in a cramped train.
Mobile working also introduces many new challenges, such as team management. More than ever, communication and mutual understanding will be key to effective teamwork. It will be necessary to balance staff's personal wishes on the one hand as well as the requirements and demands of TU Berlin on the other. This is a learning process we must embrace.
I ask that you view this instrument as a promising opportunity for us all.
On this page we will provide general information about mobile working as well as regularly publish any updated information.
Professor Dr. Christian Thomsen
President of Technische Universität Berlin