Leibniz University Hannover University News & Events
Message from university management to LUH employees

Message from university management to LUH employees

3G rule at LUH

Dear colleagues,

Following discussions held between the federal and state governments, the introduction of new regulations to prevent the infection and spread of the coronavirus , as well as talks with the Lower Saxony state government, I would like to inform you of the new developments and how they affect teaching and working at LUH.

Firstly: at LUH, we resumed on-campus learning on 4 October, which appears to be unique to Lower Saxony in terms of consistency and success. In summary, since the beginning of the semester, we have been consistent in implementing the political principles at our university to inform, test and vaccinate, as well as to reduce and monitor access. Furthermore, this has yielded very good results, to the benefit of our students and staff. I would like to express my thanks to all member of LUH, but especially to teaching staff, for your contribution to this significant success.

Our efforts have not gone unnoticed by the government, who are well aware that universities are definitely not the primary cause for the current rising number of infections. Among other things, the high percentage of vaccinated students and staff has been a factor in this. Therefore, in agreement with the state government, we can continue to implement teaching and learning under the 3G rule for the time being. We are thus treated in a similar manner to schools, as from a political perspective, educational institutions should remain open to uphold important values such as access to education and equal opportunities.

I am certain that many students and teaching staff will greatly appreciate this clear decision in favour of on-campus learning. However, I am also aware that some students and teaching staff are concerned and would welcome a return to online teaching. The Presidential Board and I fully understand your concerns and take them seriously.  I would therefore like to clearly reiterate, that we are closely monitoring events and will carefully and responsibly assess whether on-campus learning can no longer be implemented. Nevertheless, we once again ask all teaching staff to continue using the possibilities such as streaming, hybrid formats and recorded lectures from previous semesters in addition to on-campus learning.

We are in close contact with the university’s emergency committee, senate and deans as well as the Lower Saxony state government and will keep you informed.

Before I address the individual measures that have been adapted to comply with the new regulations and circumstances: Once again, I urge staff to observe the 3G rule! I would also like to ask vaccinated and recovered colleagues to nevertheless be tested regularly. We have the opportunity to be tested in our testing centre on the lower ground floor of the main university building. Lastly, I would like to reiterate that supervisors must continue to check the 3G status of their employees. In addition to strict monitoring, according to new laws governing prevention of infection, 3G status must also now be documented.

Documenting the 3G rule in the workplace

The employer must check and document the 3G rule. The supervisor must document vaccinated and recovered employees once. In order to minimise the amount of data collected, this shall only include the first name and surname of the person as well as the date that 3G status was checked. When documenting proof of recovery, the date of expiry must also be recorded.

Staff that are neither vaccinated nor recovered must be checked every time prior to entering the workplace at LUH. The supervisor must keep written records of monitoring. Documentation shall only include the first name and surname of the person as well as the date that they were checked.

Whether digitally or in paper form, the supervisor must protect the documented information against any form of access by unauthorised person (e.g. encrypted Excel table). Data collected for this purpose must be erased once this occupational health and safety regulation no longer applies or six month after collection of the data at the latest.

See FAQ 1.5.2

Working from home

Since 24 November, nationwide regulations on working from home apply once again. Employers must enable employees who perform office work or comparable tasks to work from home unless crucial operational reasons prevent this. Employees must accept this offer unless compelling reason prevents this on their part (for example, interference by third parties). For detailed information on the measures at LUH, see FAQ 4.1.

Information on measures regarding work-related meetings, interviews and events (including Christmas parties) can be found in our FAQ 4.2, 4.2.2 and 10.1.

Please reassess all non-essential events and whether they can be cancelled or postponed. We must strive to protect teaching and learning as best we can.

Please do not hesitate to contact me or other members of the Presidential Board if you have any queries. Stay safe!

Yours sincerely,
Prof. Dr. Volker Epping
President