One principle is that no work concerns stand in the way of you working remotely. This relates both to whether it is possible to work remotely and to the scope of the intended remote work. Ideally, this should be assessed by the employee and supervisor together. The supervisor makes the final decision. The Flex Employment Agreement does, however, define a process for resolving conflicts that involves all necessary participants (see “Conflict Resolution”).

The role of supervisor essentially remains unchanged in this case. The functional working hours are set by the unit (see “Working hours regulations”). As before, deadlines, arrangements or the distribution of work over the day should be coordinated with supervisors as necessary – as was probably the case in your everyday work up to now (same as previous Glaz Employment Agreement).

The aim of the new employment agreement is not for supervisors to decide when work begins (above all, in terms of functional working hours). Of course, there may be times when it makes sense to adjust your individual working hours to work requirements. This has also been the practice so far with the Glaz Employment Agreement.

In any case, interruptions in working time should be coordinated with your supervisor and you should at least notify them in advance.

The same regulations from the Flex Employment Agreement generally apply to civil servants. However, a limitation up to 7:30 p.m. currently applies to their working hours. This corresponds with the attendance framework set out in Section 4 of Berlin’s Working Time Regulations (Arbeitszeitverordnung, AZVO) that regulate the regular weekly working hours of civil servants. In addition, Section 1 of the Working Time Regulations sets the weekly working hours of full-time civil servants at 40 hours, i.e., 8 hours/day on average.

According to the regulations on the working time range set out in the Flex Employment Agreement, all staff members covered by that agreement may start work as early as 6:00 a.m.

For certain groups at Freie Universität Berlin the nature of their work responsibilities makes it impossible or overly complicated to implement more flexible hours or places of work. Therefore, exceptions are given in the Flex Employment Agreement for the following groups: student employees as per TV Stud III – KAV, employees who work shifts, are assigned to rosters or work fixed working hours, and teaching staff at the Studienkolleg. 

The main groups to whom the exceptions for remote work apply are: trainees, interns, and employees who need to be on site to perform their tasks.

Furthermore, these exception provisions allow student staff members as per TV Stud III – KAV to work remotely as long as this does not conflict with their work duties.

As already mentioned in various points, the university management intends to use the Flex Employment Agreement to take account of the different realities of employees’ lives and to make it even easier than before to balance family and career. This is the reason why these far-reaching regulations to make working time and place of work more flexible are being created. The part-time trap should be ruled out in this way. There are set procedures for conflict cases (see “Conflict Cases”).

Yes, in principle. If you comply with the framework conditions for your local functional working hours described above in terms of your individual working hours, there are no objections “time-wise.” However, where you carry out your work during those hours also needs to be agreed upon with your supervisor. You may already be familiar with a simplified version of this from the Glaz Employment Agreement.

One basic rule of the Flex Employment Agreement states that at least 50 percent of the daily individual working hours need to be completed during the functional working hours. This applies equally to part-time employees and means that part-time employees can (but do not have to) have shorter allocations in the functional working hours.

This basic rule cannot always be complied with in the calculations depending on the functional working hours – this is known and taken into account in the Flex Employment Agreement.

Defined by the individual coordinating units, the functional working hours should be Monday to Thursday from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and Fridays from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. The time period does not have to be completely used up. A minimum number of hours is not specified, the full time period would be the maximum possible. Short and long functional working time spans each have different advantages. Please note that even with the (unlikely) maximum extension of functional working hours, only 4 hours of the functional working hours remain for full-time employment due to the 50% rule for individual working hours, i.e., 1.5 hours less than is currently the case with the Glaz Employment Agreement.

A deviation from the above-mentioned time frames to 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. is possible in rare justified cases. Of course, this requires the agreement of the local staff councils.

In principle, the individual coordinating units are required to review the position of the functional working hours at least once a year and adjust them to the requirements if necessary.

The decision on where working hours are performed in the form of a “self-determined” choice is subject, on the one hand, to the defined limits and restrictions set out in the collective agreement and, on the other, to a “Working Hours Employment Agreement.” In this respect, the Flex Employment Agreement guarantees a greater “degree of freedom” than the current Glaz Employment Agreement.

The basic principles of the employment relationship and of non-self-employed work are set out in Section 106 of the German Industrial Code (GewO) and Section 611a of the German Civil Code (BGB). According to these provisions, non-self-employed work exists when there is an employment relationship (employment contract) and the employee is bound by the employer's instructions. As a result, employment agreements covering working time, such as the Flex Employment Agreement, ultimately only regulate what the unit (with the involvement of the employee representatives) could determine unilaterally anyway. Unrestricted work sovereignty in the sense of complete personal responsibility and self-direction is therefore not compatible with the nature of non-self-employed work.

Working time sovereignty can be seen more as an operational change process in which employees can decide on their own working hours, but not without restrictions. In doing so, they must adapt to the operational requirements and the necessary framework of work processes. This is precisely the aim of the regulations provided for in the Flex Employment Agreement.

As things stand, this refers to the “top” level, i.e., the heads of departments, divisions, and centers will decide on the future functional working hours in consultation with the respective department. Exceptions to this are permitted in accordance with the provisions of the Flex Employment Agreement.

The following applies for daily individual working time: At least 50 percent of your individual working time must take place during the functional working time window (if mathematically possible). You essentially decide when you work this 50 percent. Of course, work-related matters, breaks, maximum working hours, rest periods, and other factors also apply here. In addition, even with this kind of flexible working time model, the duty of care remains with the supervisor, i.e., communication is essential here. This is already the case in the current Glaz Employment Agreement outside core working hours.

In addition to the statutory rest breaks, the Flex Employment Agreement also provides for longer breaks from work (more than one day is possible) These can follow the statutory breaks, but do not have to. The work interests must be safeguarded here too.

The working hours interruptions are explicitly initiated by the employees in the Flex Employment Agreement, they may not be ordered. The situation (when?) and duration (how long?) of the break is determined by you, but it must not be less than 50 percent of the working time within the functional working time. Where (in-house/working remotely) you work before/after the break in working hours is irrelevant.

There are two levels to this question: 1. The actual distribution of working hours over the day/week and 2. the handling of overtime and undertime in general.

1. The actual distribution of work: the Flex Employment Agreement sets out a model that allows you to distribute working hours as flexibly as possible over the week. The balancing of overtime and undertime does not play a central role. 
2. The balancing of work: Freie Universität Berlin is sticking to the flexible working time model (albeit more flexible than before), in which overtime and undertime should be balanced within a defined time window. In the new Flex Employment Agreement, the maximum time credit can be raised to up to 80 hours (in exceptional cases) and the time window for balancing is extended from 6 to 12 months. Requests for sabbaticals are already possible and will continue to be an option at the Freie Universität Berlin.

A long-time working account model is currently not considered to be viable by the unit.

No, the Flex Employment Agreement does not provide for employees to be regularly called in to work on Saturdays. Working on Saturdays should remain an exception and only be considered if capacity bottlenecks or peak workloads cannot be covered on weekdays from Monday to Friday. For this reason, the coordinating unit should only be able to extend the working hours to Saturdays from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. for urgent operational/work reasons, in particular to safeguard research and teaching. Any time bonuses due during this period (e.g., bonus for Saturday work from 1:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. or bonuses for night work from 9:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.) will, of course, be paid in accordance with the applicable collective agreement rules.

In areas where the rosters or curriculum do not provide for work on Saturdays, employees may also work on Saturdays on a voluntary basis for a maximum of 6 hours observing the five-day week in consultation with their supervisor. There is no entitlement to work on Saturdays; the decision lies with the head of the respective unit. Any time bonuses due during this period (e.g., bonus for Saturday work from 1:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. or bonuses for night work from 9:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.) will, of course, be paid in accordance with the applicable collective agreement rules.

Work related to the Long Night of the Sciences, for example, is not covered by the above regulation. This is assigned overtime, which is also subject to the provisions of the collective agreement. This also applies to any time bonuses incurred during this period (e.g., bonus for Saturday work from 1:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. or bonus for night work from 9:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.).

Any additional individual arrangements made by mutual agreement between the employee and their supervisor require the prior approval of the head of the respective coordinating unit.

As described above, the Flex Employment Agreement is tied to several conditions when it comes to your individual working hours. One of these conditions is that 50% of your individual working hours must be contained within your unit’s functional working hours (where this is mathematically possible). If this condition is met, it is generally possible to interrupt your work even during functional working hours. Two key factors in doing so are a) the length of functional working hours as determined by your unit and b) the number of hours that constitute 50% of your individual working hours. This means that there may be certain combinations that do not permit work to be interrupted. However, the Staff Council: Entire Freie Universität’s general statement asserting that work interruptions will not be possible is misleading as it does not apply to everyone.

In accordance with Section 29.1.f of TV-L FU, medical treatment generally has to take place outside working hours. You are entitled to time off with continued payment of wages only if the medical treatment has to take place during working hours. Employees should therefore try to schedule appointments outside working hours.

If you have an appointment during working hours, you should check whether – in the case of fixed working hours – it is possible to reschedule it or change your working hours accordingly. Employees have to accept rescheduling within reason. However, if the employer does not reschedule the working hours, leave of absence must be granted. In the case of flexible working hours, time off is only considered if the medical treatment can only take place during core working hours.

In the Flex Employment Agreement model, it is assumed that doctor’s appointments can be scheduled outside functional working hours or outside your individual working hours within this time frame (50% regulation) or as part of an interruption in working time.

Employees are protected and insured by statutory accident insurance for accidents while at work. However, this applies only if an accident occurs during an activity that is related to work. During lunch breaks, insurance coverage is provided for the route to the dining hall/canteen and back, for journeys outside the company for meals (e.g., to an external canteen, home, or a restaurant), and also for journeys to a supermarket to buy food for the workplace. However, there is no insurance cover for the time you spend in the canteen, a restaurant, or a supermarket, nor for when you leave company premises for private errands (e.g., weekly shopping or visits to the doctor) or walks and sporting activities during breaks. This is because the break time itself is not insured. In the event of an accident, your own health insurance will then pay for any treatment.

Whether by bicycle, on foot, by public transport, or by car: anyone going to work or on their way home is insured by the employers’ liability insurance association in the event of an accident. In principle, the shortest route is insured. However, the insurance coverage does remain in place if you are forced to take a different route, for example, due to certain travel situations (traffic jams, better transport connections, and weather conditions). If an insured person interrupts their journey to or from work for private reasons, insurance coverage resumes when they return to the direct route. Exception: the break lasts longer than two hours. The insurance coverage begins and ends at the outer door to the building where you live. 

Employees working from home are also protected and insured by statutory accident insurance. However, the decisive factor here too is that the activities carried out are related to your work. For example, insurance coverage is provided when employees receive a package containing office supplies that they need for their work or when they collect work documents from the printer – even if it is located on a different floor. Employees are not insured though when they go into the kitchen to get a drink or receive a private package.

Yes, the preparations to introduce electronic tracking of working hours have begun and are formally independent of the Flex Employment Agreement. An informational event about this will be held once the process has moved forward.

Electronic time tracking was already described as a requirement by the European Court of Justice in 2019 and is currently being implemented in national law by the German Federal Government. The basic tone behind these legislative decisions is the protection of employees against overstress by employers. Targeted control mechanisms should make it easier to recognize excessive overwork and take appropriate measures.

Yes, a new Excel time sheet will be provided when the Flex Employment Agreement is introduced. It is based on the current sheet and features for the Flex Employment Agreement will be added. This also applies to the documentation of remote work. The new Excel time sheet will be an interim solution as the many elements of the Flex Employment Agreement can only be depicted in simplified form.

According to the Flex Employment Agreement, employees are not obliged to make use of working remotely. As long as there is no conflict with work duties, employees subject to the Flex Employment Agreement can decide freely whether they want to work remotely on up to 60 percent of the working days in a month or spend their entire working hours in attendance at Freie Universität Berlin. You can only work remotely after consulting with your supervisor and therefore have to request this through them. A request form will be provided centrally for employees on the Freie Universität Berlin homepage. A documentation obligation is derived from the above in order to be able to transparently indicate the share of working remotely for everyone. This form of required documentation has so far not been specified in detail.

No, working remotely for a time period of less than half a working day is calculated as a half-day in the allocation for remote work.

The current agreement (temporary regulation) currently provides for 40 percent remote working. The temporary regulation will apply up to the end of the winter semester 2023/2024 (March 31, 2024). If the university management and Staff Council: Entire Freie Universität happen to agree on a different percentage, an adjustment would be possible in principle.

Working remotely should be made as simple and uncomplicated as possible, even at short notice. At the same time, this form of work also needs to be transparent, comprehensible for all those involved and, if necessary, the use of the service also needs to be verifiable (e.g., for tax reasons, accident protection). Against this background, remote work is to be documented using a request form that is centrally available to employees. Whether this practice will prove itself in everyday usage will be investigated when the Flex Employment Agreement is evaluated after two years of operation.

If you make use of working remotely on a regular basis, you can request it at least three days in advance. Use at short notice should always be possible in consultation with your direct supervisor.

Working remotely from abroad is currently not possible due to a lack of regulations at Freie Universität Berlin and is not planned as part of the Flex Employment Agreement. However, Freie Universität Berlin reserves the right to introduce other regulations covering “Working Remotely from Abroad.”

Even in the context of the Flex Employment Agreement, regular remote working will not lead to employees no longer being provided with a fixed workplace. Working remotely is offered on a voluntary basis to allow employees to perform their contractual work from a different location (in Germany) when necessary. This does not affect the previous permanent desk.

The reference value for remote work is the total number of working days in a month. This means employees should also be able to work remotely for longer stretches (as long as this does not conflict with work duties).

Taking an average of 20 working days per month (five-day week), working remotely would therefore be possible on up to 12 days per month (whole days). These 12 days can be distributed over the month, i.e., employees could, for example, work remotely on up to 3 days each week or 12 days in a row (not counting weekend days in between).

In addition, you could work remotely on half-days. Using the aforementioned calculation (five-day week), you could, for example, work remotely half-days on all 20 days (calculated as up to 24 half days/month). 

A combination of full-day and half-day remote work (also alternating) would therefore be possible. Using the aforementioned calculation (five-day week), employees could, for example, work remotely for full days twice a week and work remotely half-days (by the hour) on two days. One working day would have to be spent entirely in-house.

All examples above assume, of course, that there is no conflict with work duties.

The Flex Employment Agreement does not regulate any forms of desk sharing. All employees will continue to have their own designated workspace. Working remotely is offered to employees on a voluntary basis. 

New forms of working in the context of New Work will be adopted at Freie Universität Berlin in the medium to long term, but will need trials. The Executive Board therefore reserves the right to design model workstations that are suitable for desk sharing.

The remote work regulations in the Flex Employment Agreement allow you to work remotely on up to 60 percent of the working days every month. Taking an average of 20 working days per month (five-day week), working remotely would therefore be possible on up to 12 days per month (whole days). These 12 days can be distributed freely over the month, i.e., employees can, for example, work remotely on up to 3 days each week on a regular basis or 12 days in a row (not counting weekend days in between).

In addition, you can work remotely on half-days. Starting with the above calculation (five-day week), you can theoretically work half-days remotely on up to 24 days.

A combination of daily and half-day remote working (also alternating) is also possible. Using the aforementioned calculation (five-day week), you can work remotely on two full days per week and half-days on two days (hourly rate). One working day would have to be spent entirely in-house.

Telework and working remotely are used synonymously in everyday language for “working from home.” However, from a legal viewpoint, these terms describe two different forms of work and therefore need to be differentiated and regulated separately from a labor law perspective. 

Telework is highly formalized in legal terms and subject to certain conditions when used. For example, the teleworking place needs to be located in the employee’s own home environment in a separate study and must fulfill certain requirements (in terms of room size, equipment, ergonomics, and data protection). In addition, teleworking has to be regulated in a contract, and fixed working days and communication times have to be defined.

Working remotely has not yet been formalized in law. It does not require contractual regulation and is not tied to the employee’s home workplace. In contrast to teleworking, it can also be used at short notice – provided this does not conflict with work duties. Working remotely would thus be possible, for example, from a café, a co-working space, a playground, or any location away from your home (e.g., at the home of a family member or persons who need to be looked after or cared for by employees of Freie Universität Berlin).

No, there are no predefined criteria that specify valid reasons for telework and, given the size of an institution like Freie Universität Berlin, it makes no sense to establish such a limited scope. Due to the requirements for alternating telework, a complex request procedure is being prepared in which individual reasons can be explained. Reasons might include, for example, care or nursing situations or the compatibility of family and career.

The Telework Employment Agreement essentially regulates the “where” and “how” of an employee making use of alternating telework. However, the Telework Employment Agreement does not regulate the distribution of working hours. For employees who make use of alternating telework, the working time regulations of the Glaz Employment Agreement currently apply. As soon as the Flex Employment Agreement comes into force, the working hours regulations from the Flex Employment Agreement will apply together with all of its new components.

Telework and working remotely are used synonymously in everyday language for “working from home.” However, from a legal viewpoint, these terms describe two different forms of work and must therefore be differentiated and regulated separately from a labor law perspective.

Telework is highly formalized in legal terms and subject to certain conditions when used. For example, the teleworking place needs to be located in the employee’s own home environment in a separate study and must fulfill certain requirements (in terms of room size, equipment, ergonomics, and data protection). In addition, teleworking has to be regulated in a contract, and fixed working days and communication times have to be defined.

Working remotely has not yet been formalized in law. It does not require contractual regulation and is not tied to the employee’s home workplace. In contrast to teleworking, it can also be used at short notice – provided this does not conflict with work duties. Working remotely would thus be possible, for example, from a café, a co-working space, a playground or any location away from your home (e.g., at the home of a family member or persons who need to be looked after or cared for by employees of Freie Universität Berlin).

Please refer to the explanations above about the formal and legal differences between teleworking and working remotely. In principle, changes to the location and timing of teleworking are also possible at short notice by mutual agreement with supervisors (if this does not conflict with work duties). As a general rule, Freie Universität Berlin, as an employer, wants to avoid the dissolution of boundaries between working hours and place of work. It also does not want staff to become distanced from the workplace and colleagues. This will be achieved by ensuring that staff come into work on a regular basis. Therefore, the two working from home options cannot be combined.

Regardless of the regulations of the Flex Employment Agreement, Freie Universität Berlin intends to successively equip all jobs that are suitable for remote work with the appropriate technical resources (e.g., laptop, docking station, etc.). However, for reasons of cost and capacity, the provision or conversion of the equipment cannot be carried out immediately. Instead, this will take place over the coming years according to requirements.

The unit is aware that differing views on remote work and the distribution of working hours may well arise. The Employment Agreement provides all parties involved with a standard route to resolve differences and establish a suitable decision-making process.

Within the framework of the Flex Employment Agreement, all collective agreement regulations apply as before. Bonuses for work between 9:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. will continue to be paid.

In 2020, the Executive Board of Freie Universität Berlin decided to enter into negotiations with employee representatives seeking to make working hours more flexible. To date, the university management has not been able to engage in any noteworthy discussions with employee representatives about making working hours more flexible. Ideas or suggestions about potential employee needs have only been put forward by university management.

A survey was therefore conducted in summer 2023 to determine what kind of changes employees at Freie Universität Berlin would specifically like to see in their everyday work. It also addressed their needs and concerns if such changes were to be implemented. Making working hours and their place of work more flexible was a key issue. The results of the survey provide a basis for the university management to begin new talks with employee representatives about making working hours more flexible. They are also seeking to reach an agreement on how to adapt the old employment agreements or draw up new employment agreements on working hours and place of work. 

Based on the survey, the university management has already suggested several dates for talks and negotiations to staff representatives, who have so far not responded. For this reason, the previous draft of the Flex Employment Agreement was revised once again by the university management and aspects brought to light in the survey have been added. This draft has been submitted to the staff representatives together with a declaration stating that costs for external legal advice will be covered.

In contrast to the Flex Employment Agreement, the negotiations for the Telework Employment Agreement recently got off to a very successful start. Both parties introduced a large number of amendments. Despite the many suggested changes, constructive and focused negotiations took place that have shown a willingness to compromise on both sides. While a few outstanding points remain, room for compromise can also be seen in those areas. 

These points do, however, still need to be finalized for both parties. This means that we cannot say when an agreement is likely to be reached nor when it will be concluded. Still, the two sides have never been closer to settling this employment agreement.

In addition to the valuable information, which forms a very good basis for how work will be organized in coming years, one result has already been transferred directly to the Flex Employment Agreement: “60 percent remote work.”

Contrary to what the Staff Council: Entire Freie Universität (GPR) claims, the university management agreed to the expansion to 60 percent remote work on the basis of the survey results. There was no clear demand from the Staff Council: Entire Freie Universität due to a lack of concrete and substantive negotiations on the Flex Employment Agreement.

In 2020, the Executive Board of Freie Universität Berlin decided to enter into negotiations with employee representatives seeking to make working hours more flexible. One reason was that the amount and location/distribution of working hours have become key factors in the attractiveness of employers. Such issues are becoming increasingly important in the light of debates about work-life balance (e.g., childcare and looking after family members), demographic developments, and also in the wake of the pandemic, digitalization, and climate change.

To date, the university management has not been able to engage in any noteworthy discussions with employee representatives regarding the flexibilization of working hours. Ideas or suggestions about potential employee needs have only been put forward by the management. A survey was therefore conducted in summer 2023 to determine what kind of changes employees at Freie Universität Berlin would specifically like to see in their everyday work. It also addressed their needs and concerns if such changes were to be implemented. Making working hours and their place of work more flexible was a key issue. The results of the survey provide a basis for the university management to begin new talks with employee representatives about making working hours more flexible. They are also seeking to reach an agreement on how to adapt the old employment agreements or draw up new employment agreements on working hours and place of work. 

The results of the staff survey

The Flex Employment Agreement affects many groups and positions across Freie Universität Berlin. However, there are exceptions. This includes, for example, staff who are required to follow a specific schedule as part of their terms of employment. It is not generally possible to provide the same degree of flexibility for members of staff employed under these conditions.

There is a shared belief that extending the time range during which work may be carried out or making core working hours (functional work hours) more flexible does not provide a suitable basis for reliable shift plans and schedules, particularly in sensitive work environments such as clinics. Nevertheless, it is assumed that a more flexible working model could boost Freie Universität Berlin’s image as a modern, attractive employer. Such a model could provide a solution to staff shortages and take the pressure off units affected by shortages.

It is important to emphasize that the impact of the Flex Employment Agreement will be very limited in areas where staff work according to schedules or shifts.

No, employees will not earn less with the introduction of the Flex Employment Agreement, nor will Freie Universität Berlin save money by introducing the agreement. It should be noted that time bonuses are regulated in accordance with existing collective agreements. These take precedence over the Flex Employment Agreement.

There are no plans to use the Flex Employment Agreement to override or undermine the collective agreements. What is more, to do so would be inadmissible. As a result, it cannot be argued that introducing the new agreement will make it harder to fill empty positions. On the contrary, introducing a more flexible working model will hopefully boost Freie Universität Berlin’s image as a modern, attractive employer. This could help provide a solution to staff shortages and take the pressure off units affected by shortages.

Please see the question “How autonomously can working hours be organized...?” for a more detailed explanation. By the nature of their employment relationship, employees are not entitled to complete freedom in organizing their working hours. Working time sovereignty can be seen more as an operational change process in which employees can decide on their own working hours, but not without restrictions. In doing so, they must adapt to operational requirements and the necessary framework of work processes. This is precisely the aim of the regulations stipulated in the Flex Employment Agreement.

If there is a desire among employees for more flexibility without a loss of communication and collaboration (two important elements of working at a university), then the next logical step is to provide an expanded framework for working hours. It is also logical to introduce regulations that help ensure that communication and collaboration are upheld, for example, the “50% rule.” Any claims that employees will lose their autonomy in organizing their working hours or that units will have unlimited power in deciding working hours are unfounded, as all employees are bound to set regulations. As no changes are being made to collective agreements governing work hours, employees’ right to end their working day and cease work-related activities is not affected by the Flex Employment Agreement.

It should be mentioned that introducing a more flexible working model is no easy task; many aspects need to be taken into consideration. A simpler, more cost-efficient solution would be to assign fixed working hours for everyone – however, this would be neither flexible nor desirable.

The Staff Council: Entire Freie Universität has called for negotiations surrounding the Flex Employment Agreement to be supported by legal counsel. University management has been open to negotiations since the very beginning. After all, when it comes to negotiating an employment agreement, discussions regarding the content thereof are important. How Freie Universität Berlin organizes working hours is something that should be decided jointly and with the input of its members. Claims that Freie Universität has failed to create space for negotiations are unfounded, particularly in view of the comprehensive informational event that the Staff Council: Entire Freie Universität attended in early 2022. In addition, university management has made it clear that legal counsel is possible at any time, including after negotiations have been completed and in the event that any discrepancies are found. Furthermore, Freie Universität is only considered to have complied with its obligations to allow for negotiations to take place once legal counsel has been provided regarding the content of the agreement.