Student employees (StuBe)

Last updated 3. April 2024 | Webmaster

Do you work at the university? Are you a tutor, SHK, or WHK? But what concrete rights do you have as an employee? What happens if your contract does not arrive on time? Do you have to work on your private laptop? How is your vacation calculated? What can you do if you are dissatisfied with your employment relationship or feel that you are being exploited?

For these and all other questions you may have on this topic, please contact us at the Student Employees’ Office (StuBe).

On this page, you will find

What we do

  • Representation of the interests of student employees (formerly: assistants) at Leuphana in the university community
  • Student advice on problems and questions about working conditions, contracts, wages, insurance…
  • Networking of student employees
  • Networking with other professional groups at Leuphana
  • Networking with local trade unions (ver.di, GEW)
  • Thematic events (film screenings, discussions, lectures)

How we work

  • weekly plenums
  • grassroots democratic decision-making
  • Close networking with AStA, university politics, staff council

TVStud: Bring on the collective agreement for student employees!

What has happened so far:

As a department, we took over the function of a local initiative of TVStud last year, i.e. the nationwide campaign for a collective agreementfor studentemployees (you can find the website here). As SHKs, we are mostly young, academic and precarious: 77.8% of student employees are considered at risk of poverty, are trapped in fixed-term contracts and have no right to their own staff representation.

For this reason, we set up the TVStud collective bargaining movement at Leuphana in summer 2023 and were in the strike semester in fall 2023. On several days, we went on strike together with colleagues from the city and the university. As part of the collective bargaining round for the federal states, we demanded higher wages, longer contracts and more co-determination rights nationwide.

Despite the blockade by the employers (the finance ministers of the federal states), we reached an agreement under the law of obligations as a result of the collective bargaining round. This stipulates that €13.25/hour will be paid from summer semester 2024 and that contracts must generally be 12 months long. The TVStud will be renegotiated in the next collective bargaining round in 2025. Until then, amendments to the Higher Education and Staff Representation Act are pending in Lower Saxony. As a department and TVStud initiative, we have the opportunity to bring about even more improvements to our working conditions through political work.


Participation

We are always on the lookout for interested and motivated team members. We do not assume any prior knowledge. Nevertheless, it makes sense for you to have experience as an SHK yourself. We offer the help and knowledge you need to get started.

Possible areas of work: interested listener & discussant, social media & public relations, political alliance work, advising SHK colleagues, networking with other university groups, event organization and much more.

Please contact us by e-mail or come to the next plenary session (see dates in the right-hand column).

We have also set up a Telegram group that we use for information and exchange. Note that this is a public group; please be responsible for personal information.


If you have any questions about your employment, we can also meet via Zoom. Please contact us via one of the above-mentioned channels to make an appointment.

Everyone is cordially invited to be part of the Autonomous Department and to contribute their own ideas for the interests of student employees!


Calculator for Days off

FAQ

Do you have direct questions? Take a look at our little labor law A to Z! (Click on the arrows to open the drop down.)
What do I need to know about working hours?


How much can I work?
Max. 86 working hours per month (or 19.5 hours per week) are permitted. The working time of several departments must be added together. Max. 6 working days per week (= Mon to Sat) may be worked. A maximum of 8 hours per working day is permitted for regular working hours. There must be at least 11 hours between the end of the working day and the end of the working day. A 30-minute break must be taken after 6 hours of work at the latest. After 9 hours of work, another 15-minute break must be taken.

What happens to overtime?
As a general rule, you should not accumulate negative or overtime hours. Unfortunately, overtime cannot be paid out directly. If it does happen, it is best to discuss this with your supervisor. There are often flexible solutions, such as an extension of the employment contract in the amount of the accumulated overtime.

I would like to receive a reference .


Am I entitled to an employer’s reference?
Yes, you are entitled to a simple or qualified reference. A simple job reference only certifies that you were employed/worked in a certain area. A qualified reference contains further details. Information is provided on the work performed and an assessment is made of the SHK’s working methods and (social) skills.

Where can I apply for an employment reference?
It is best to talk to your direct superiors about this. He*she should forward your request to Human Resources. The personnel service will take care of the preparation and send you the certificate. The process can take up to 6 weeks.

What happens on public holidays?


In principle, employees should not work on public holidays. According to the employment contract, the weekly working time is reduced by one day at a time. This means that you have these days off without any vacation days being deducted. The hours on a public holiday are credited to you, even if you do not work. Public holidays are calculated in the same way as vacation (see keyword “Vacation”). One public holiday therefore corresponds to one vacation day in terms of hours, two public vacations correspond to two vacation days, etc.

I am ill or unable to work, what do I have to do?


For both short and long-term illnesses, you should report sick directly to your supervisor at your place of employment and to the HR service on the first day of illness (email: ). Ideally with a recovery prognosis, but this is not a must. You can find more information on how to report sick in this document.

If you are ill for longer than three calendar days, this must be certified by a doctor. If the incapacity to work is established, the data is automatically forwarded to the personnel service and the hours do not have to be made up. The calculation is the same as for vacation days, see keyword “Vacation”.

Am I entitled to continued payment of wages in the event of illness?
In principle, yes, but you only become entitled to continued remuneration after you have been employed for four weeks. Before that, you have to make up your lost working time. If the entitlement exists, the salary can continue to be paid until the sixth week (provided it is the same illness).

I would like to resign.


Can I give notice?
Yes, you can terminate your employment relationship at any time. You should note the following: The notice period is four weeks to the 15th or last day of the month. It may also be possible to terminate the employment relationship earlier by means of a termination agreement, which must be sent to the personnel service in writing, i.e. by post (not by e-mail). Verbal terminations will not be accepted by the Personnel Service. Upon exmatriculation, the activity as a student employee also ends.

What is the notice period for termination by the university?
The statutory notice period for mini-jobs applies. This is four weeks to the 15th or the end of a calendar month.

What do I have to consider with timesheets?


Keeping a timesheet is mandatory. Otherwise, the recording of times is not bound to any form.

What must be recorded in the timesheet?
Start, end and duration of daily working hours.

When and where do I have to submit the timesheet?
To be submitted to the place of employment (your supervisor or the relevant office) by the third of the following month at the latest.

Where can I find a timesheet template?
There is a form.

I need a vacation!


How much vacation am I entitled to?
According to the Federal Leave Act, you are entitled to four weeks’ leave. As our working week has six days, this gives us 24 days of vacation a year. A full week’s vacation therefore runs from Monday to Saturday. We first acquire full vacation entitlement after six months, before that it is 2 working days per month. You can, but do not have to, take a week’s vacation at a time.

How do I apply for leave?
Use this form to submit your application. Please note: the document is on the intranet, so you must be logged in via VPN. You fill out the application yourself and your superiors must sign it before you send it to the processing department (email: ).

How is my vacation entitlement calculated?
Your monthly working time is divided by 4.348. You take 1/6 of this, corresponding to one working day a week. This time corresponds to the time for the individual working day. (You also enter this number for a public holiday!)
For example: you work 20 hours a month. 20h / 4.348 = 4.599h per week / 6 = 0.7666h per day – taking a vacation day therefore means 0.77h, which must be entered in the time sheet. A public holiday also corresponds to 0.77 hours.

What is the vacation entitlement with two SHK jobs?
Even with two SHK jobs, you are entitled to 24 days’ vacation. It is possible and sensible for you to have both supervisors sign a single leave request, even if they are not employed in the same organizational unit. Your specified vacation days are logically taken in both departments. If you keep two timesheets, the vacation entitlements are different! Here it is important to pay attention to the number of hours per month depending on the position and to calculate the individual vacation day according to the calculation above.

What happens if I fall ill while on vacation?
If you are ill while on vacation, it is important to have your incapacity for work certified by a doctor.
If the incapacity for work is confirmed by a doctor, the data should be automatically transmitted to the personnel service. Vacation days taken should then not be credited or deducted accordingly.
We recommend playing it safe and contacting the HR department anyway and asking for a refund of the vacation days (email: ) This ensures that the information reaches the HR department in any case.
Further information on the procedure can also be found here.

Can vacation entitlement be taken into the new employment when the contract is extended?
In the event of continued employment in the same institution without interruption, the vacation entitlement from the employment relationship until 30.09.2022 does not expire. If employment is interrupted, even for just one day, the entitlement from the previous employment is forfeited.

What do I do if my place of employment does not allow me to take vacation because I have minus hours?
It depends on the individual case! In principle, however, the employer has the right to decide when leave is taken. It depends on how the minus hours came about: Did I work less than contractually agreed, even though there was enough work available? Then I have a difficult negotiating position. Do I have minus hours because my superiors haven’t given me enough orders? Then you have a good negotiating position. In any case, it must be taken into account when the last vacation was and, if applicable, how urgent the current tasks really are (real SHK activities, etc.).

I need special leave!


Is it possible to apply for special leave (e.g. for voluntary work)?
It depends. A distinction must be made here between paid and unpaid special leave: In the case of paid special leave, it will be difficult because most of us are paid (directly or indirectly) according to hours worked. Things that can be planned usually count. not as paid special leave. The situation is slightly different for unpaid special leave because there are no costs for the employer. However, there is no entitlement to unpaid special leave. If you want to do it right, an extra contract would also be concluded for this. It is important to note that your salary will be deducted on a daily basis and you will therefore have less money at the end of the month.

Is there a pragmatic solution here?
This depends, among other things, on your supervisor or your place of employment. It is best to make an agreement with him*her. Depending on the period, you could, for example work the times before or after. If this is not possible, a reduction in hours might be possible to compensate for this.

How much can and may I earn?


What wages do student employees receive?
Without a Bachelor’s degree €12.00, with a Bachelor’s degree €12.77.

What happens if I earn more than 520 euros in one or more months?
If you earn more than EUR 6,240 per year (i.e. 12 x EUR 520), you may have to pay a proportionate contribution (there may also be deductions for BAFöG etc.). You don’t have to pay taxes because you are still below the tax-free allowance (10,347.00 euros per year, as of March 2023). It may happen that the personnel service calculates the two months as a midi job and, with the last statement (December at the latest), may repay the excess contributions deducted. For an estimate, you can enter your data in an online midi job calculator or working student calculator. For precise information, ask the personnel service directly and have a payroll run simulated so that you can plan better.

What about insurance?


In principle, as long as we remain below the EUR 520.00 limit, no social security contributions are due. This changes as soon as you regularly earn between EUR 520.01 and EUR 2000 gross. The mini-job then becomes a so-called midi-job. Midijobs are subject to social security contributions. In this area, you pay all social insurance contributions (health, long-term care, unemployment and pension insurance) on a pro rata basis with your employer in various stages – you therefore also acquire all entitlements from this amount. From a gross salary of EUR 2000.01, social security contributions must be paid in full.

We can pay into the pension insurance scheme, but we can also be exempted from it. Bear in mind that the employer also pays its share of the pension insurance! You pay in 3.6% of your earnings, but the employer pays in a full 15%. We advise you not to be exempt from pension insurance, as you will not have to pay your employer’s share. Among other things, you will only receive rehab benefits later if you have at least you have paid in for 6 months.

We do not pay into unemployment insurance with a mini-job. To be entitled to unemployment benefit I, you must have paid unemployment insurance contributions for at least 12 months within the last 30 months before registering as unemployed. If you don’t have this and become unemployed after your studies, you end up directly in unemployment benefit II (aka citizen’s allowance).

We have to take care of health and long-term care insurance ourselves if we have a mini-job. If you earn more than €520 per month, you are no longer covered by statutory family insurance and have to pay the contribution yourself (currently around €120).

You can read more here.