Main Content
Secondary employment
Your quick start to work:
Contact persons:
Tarif staff: Bianca Bardarè
Civil servant: Sabine Niese / Maria Fisbeck
University instructors: Claudia Preuß /Nicole Liebe
Legal regulations:
HMdI information sheet – Exercise of secondary employment
§77 Hesse Higher Education Act
§3(4) as amended per §40 No. 2 of the Collective Bargaining Agreement
of the State of Hesse (TV-H)
Forms:
Approval/notification of secondary employment – application
Proof of secondary employment
General:
Employment at Philipps-Universität Marburg is considered main employment. Secondary employment is the performance of a secondary position or exercise of a secondary employment. A secondary position is a group of tasks that do not belong to the main position and that are performed on the basis of public service or official relationship. Secondary employment is any other activity within or outside public service that is not part of the main position. Honorary public positions are those activities designated as such in legal regulations (e.g., mandates) as well as any officially appointed or elective participation in the performance of public duties done without remuneration or for which only a mere expense allowance is paid (e.g., election workers). Honorary public positions are not considered secondary employment but must be reported to the department in writing in accordance with §71(4) HBG before taking them on. A distinction must be drawn between this and all other activities performed “in an honorary capacity.” This includes, e.g., work in associations. If this is done free of charge, it is not a secondary employment but a pure exercise of basic rights, which does not justify a duty of disclosure. If on the other hand remuneration is given, the activity must again be considered secondary employment within the meaning of the definition above.
An Application for approval/notification of secondary employment must be submitted for each secondary activity before that activity commences. The Human Resources Department will then decide on your application and may subject it to stipulations.
The rejection or approval is based on the statutory regulations or collective bargaining provisions.
The Hesse State Ministry of the Interior and Sports in Information sheet – Exercise of secondary employment has compiled the legal foundations and definitions of terms. However, we ask you to bear in mind that additional regulations must be taken into account for the area of responsibility of the Hesse State Ministry of Science and the Arts, as you can see from the Secondary Employment Law – Overview.
For employees
§3(4) as amended per §40 No. 2 TV-H applies to employees. According to this, secondary employment must generally be reported. The approval requirement under civil service law dos not apply here. The HR department will confirm that it has taken note of this by e-mail.
Secondary employment subject to notification may also be subject to stipulations if there is a risk that official interests might be impinged upon. The relates primarily to the type and scope of the secondary employment. For example, no more than 8 hours per week may be worked in secondary employment. In the case of part-time employees, a secondary job may comprise up to the regular working hours of a full-time job plus an additional 8 hours per week. Secondary employment may not include tasks that could be completed as part of official duties.
If personnel, material (material resources) or facilities of the university are used to perform the secondary employment, notice of this must be given in advance.
The Human Resources Department will decide on your application. Permission may be granted subject to the payment of a usage fee. For private use of a work telephone, please refer to the Service policy on the use of telephone equipment. In addition, in cases of use at the end of the calendar year or at the end of the employment relationship, proof of secondary employment must be submitted. The use of this form is mandatory.
For civil servants
The provisions of §§71 et. seqq. HBG apply to civil servants of the State of Hesse. In contrast to collective bargaining agreements, a distinction must be drawn here between secondary employment that requires approval and those that do not (but in some cases must be reported), as well as secondary employment at the request of the employer.
Civil servants are obligated to take on secondary employment in the public service at the request of their highest official authority, subject to the provisions of civil service law. This may include, e.g., taking part in examinations, acting as a part-time judge, or other activities undertaken at the request, suggestion or instigation of the employer. These activities are subject neither to the obligation to notify nor to the requirement for approval, but they must be stated in the list that must be submitted every year (see Proof of secondary employment) (§72 HBG).
§73 HBG contains the reservation of approval. Accordingly, secondary employment may be taken up only after prior written approval by the employer. Any subsequent or neglected request for approval therefore represents a breach of official duty and can be punished accordingly pursuant to the provisions of civil service law! The approval reservation exists, e.g., for all secondary positions, all secondary employment for remuneration, commercial or freelance activities, entry onto an executive board, supervisory board, or similar body, e.g., of a cooperative or company or similar activities. For the exact wording and completeness of the list, please refer to the legal provision itself (§73 HBG).
Approval may be granted for a maximum of 5 years. If the secondary employment must be carried out for a longer period of time, a new application for approval must be submitted after the 5 years have expired.
Furthermore, §73 HBG governs the reasons for refusing approval. Such a reason exists in particular if there is concern that the secondary employment will impinge on official interests. This may be the case, e.g., if the secondary employment places such a heavy demand on the civil servant in terms of its nature and scope that the proper fulfillment of his or her official duties may be impeded. A further reason for refusal may exist if the secondary employment is considered to be the exercise of a secondary profession in terms of its nature, scope or frequency. This is generally considered to be the case if the time required exceeds one fifth of the regular working hours of a full-time employee. In the case of professors, this applies if one working day per week is exceeded. A special examination with regard to the existence of a secondary occupation is also necessary if the remuneration from the secondary employment exceeds 30% of annual gross remuneration for full-time employment in the calendar year.
Exceptions to the approval requirement can be found in §74 HBG. In particular, writing, scientific, artistic or lecture activities are explicitly excluded from the approval requirement, as are independent expert activities related to teaching or research tasks and other activities listed in the provision. For these exceptions, however, there is an obligation to notify the employer. §74 HBG therefore does not release the employee from the obligation to fill out the aforesaid form.
At the end of the calendar year or upon termination of the employment or service relationship, the income generated by the secondary employment must be disclosed to the department (Proof of secondary employment). The use of this form is mandatory.
Pursuant to §75(2) HBG, it must be noted that secondary employment must always be performed outside of regular working hours. Exceptions to this rule are as follows: If the secondary employment is performed at the request of the employer (cf. §72 HBG) or if the employer recognizes an official interest in the secondary activity, it may be performed during working hours, and the missed working hours do not have to be made up. In other exceptional cases, in which there is a public interest in the pursuit of the secondary activity and there are no official reasons to the contrary, the pursuit of the activity during working hours may be permitted if the missed working hours are made up.
If personnel, material (material resources) or facilities of the university are used to perform the secondary employment, notice of this must be given in advance. The Human Resources Department will decide on your application. Permission may be granted subject to the payment of a usage fee. For private use of a work telephone, please refer to the Service policy on the use of telephone equipment.