The start of a new semester also marks the beginning of teaching time for many. However, since teaching is only part of the academic work at WU that is remunerated as part of an all-in salary, the Collective Bargaining Agreement for University Staff defines the minimum and maximum teaching load per semester. This is based on a reference period of two consecutive academic years (always starting in the winter semester). Accordingly, the following limits apply to full-time academic staff members for teaching, depending on their job group:

¹⁾ From a classification in salary level B1 02 (= after 3 years of work as a pre-doc or with corresponding consideration of relevant prior work experience), the limits apply as for post-docs.

²⁾The employment contracts of a small group of “university research assistants” stipulate otherwise: these pre-docs and post-docs have no teaching load according to their employment contract. However, if a teaching activity is carried out, this is also remunerated with teaching allowance 2.

³⁾ With the conclusion of a qualification agreement, you belong to the group of Senior assistant professors.

⁴⁾ If an agreed development agreement (EV) is fulfilled, the employment contracts for these post-docs provide for a teaching load of 6 weekly credit hours. There is no additional compensation, but post-docs with a development agreement at WU are generally overpaid and therefore receive a higher salary than the collective bargaining agreement for post-docs stipulates.

⁵⁾ Once the qualification agreement has been fulfilled, you belong to the group of associate professors.

⁶⁾ For Full professors who were appointed on the basis of senior faculty selection proceedings in accordance with §§ 98, 99 Universities Act 2002, § 49 para. 7 and para. 9 of the collective bargaining agreement do not provide for any binding limits; the extent of the teaching load is therefore a matter for negotiation.

⁷⁾ For senior lecturers, the first thing to look at is the employment contract.

For part-time employees, these values are to be aliquoted accordingly. Examples:

⁸⁾ From a classification in salary level B1 02 (= after 3 years of work as a pre-doc or with corresponding consideration of relevant prior work experience [see below]), the limits apply as for post-docs, but taking into account the special regulation according to the operational agreement (see below).

⁹⁾ The increased teaching load of generally 6 weekly credit hours (see above⁴⁾) provided for in the employment contracts of post-docs with development agreements must also be aliquoted according to the (possibly only temporarily) reduced working hours.

However, further special regulations must be observed for teaching and research associates (Pre-docs):

a) Teaching and research associates whose employment at WU began before October 1, 2024 are subject to the 2012 operational agreement on the amount and the distribution of the teaching load of part-time teaching and research associates. In this regulation, WU assumes a reference period of one year, whereby the semester in which the start of employment falls counts as the first full semester.¹⁰⁾

¹⁰⁾The start of the winter semester is always October 1 due to the academic calendar defined in § 52 Universities Act. The start of the summer semester depends on the further division of the academic calendar by the Senate and can therefore be either before or after March 1. However, the Payroll Office for Teaching Staff always assumes March 1 as the start of the summer semester when determining which semester the start of the academic year falls into.

If periods of prior work experience of more than one semester were credited at the beginning of employment as a pre-doc, these are to be treated as periods of service at WU for the calculation of the teaching load according to the operational agreement, which is why in individual cases a higher teaching load may result at an earlier point in time. However, if the relevant prior work experience is limited to a maximum of 3 semesters, there is no teaching load in the first semester of employment at WU.

b) Teaching and research associates whose employment at WU began after September 30, 2024, are subject to the operational agreement Teaching Load of Teaching and Research Associates, which came into force on October 1, 2024. Those regulations ensure that these employees are not required to teach during their first year of employment at WU, in accordance with the provisions of the Collective Bargaining Agreement for University Staff. As a rule, teaching is therefore only required from the semester following the end of the first year of employment. Therefore, the teaching load only begins once the teaching and research associate has been employed at WU for two full semesters.

¹¹⁾ Only if the employment relationship starts on 1.10. or 1.3. is the teaching load already 2 credit hours in the third semester.

According to the revised operational agreement, relevant prior work experience can also lead to an earlier higher teaching load. However, it is ensured that teaching is only required before the third semester if at least three years of relevant prior work experience are credited when taking up employment as a teaching and research associate.

^{Translation/Update Nov 2024}