Legal accident insurance for staff on business trips:
Staff who undertake business trips on behalf of or in the interests of the university are covered by legal accident insurance for all activities and work performed in causal connection with the business activities, with the exception of persons who are to be provided with accident insurance under civil service regulations.
However, staff are not always insured for the entire duration of the business trip or for every activity, even if they have to stay or move outside their place of work and residence during the business trip in the interests of the service.
In this context, the general principles apply according to which the insurance coverage only pertains to activities which have a substantial legal connection with the insured activity.
Therefore, when a person engages in purely personal activities during the business trip that are unconnected to the professional activities (eating, drinking, sleeping, etc.), the insurance coverage ceases to apply. Such activities fundamentally belongs to the private sphere and therefore to the personal life of the concerned individual.
The fact that a member of staff is free to choose the precise manner and time of implementation of the given assignment does not contradict the acceptance of a business trip. On the other hand, in cases in which an official or business trip is substantially linked to private interests in terms of time and place, it must be examined whether an actual causal connection exists with the professional activity at the time of the accident. The decision on this matter must take into account all circumstances of the specific case.
For instance, if a member of staff carries out activities in the location independently of the professional activity which are based on personal interests (e.g. visiting museums, attending cultural events) and are unrelated to the actual assigned tasks, these activities also belong to the uninsured private sphere of the member of staff.
Finally, it should be noted that only accident events are covered under the legal accident insurance, not endogenous illnesses occurring during the business trip (e.g. appendicitis or flu). In such cases, the individual's health insurance is liable for payment.
In the event of an accident, an accident report must be submitted without delay to the personnel officer in Division 1 who is responsible for the individual concerned.
The Lower Saxony Accident Insurance Fund (Landesunfallkasse Niedersachsen (LUK Niedersachsen)) ultimately clarifies whether accident insurance applies.
NB: PhD students who are enrolled as PhD students but who finance their doctorate with a scholarship and are therefore not employed by the university are not legally insured against accidents during a stay for research purposes in Groningen, as the insurance coverage is limited to activities within the university's organisational area of responsibility.
You will find further information on the subject (in German) at: lukn.de/rehabilitation-leistung/versichertenkreis/kinder-schueler-studierende/universitaet.php
Employer's liability insurance:
In principle, the University of Oldenburg is liable for material damage caused by staff on business trips in the course of their work - but only at the current value. However, damage due to gross negligence or intent is excluded. The damage caused must be documented and communicated to the personnel officer in Division 1 who is responsible for the concerned person.
Health insurance:
Staff members and civil servants working in the Netherlands on a temporary basis (usually for no more than 24 months), who continue to be covered by statutory health insurance in Germany can also receive sickness benefits in kind in the Netherlands. This also applies to co-insured family members who are accompanying or visiting the person in question. The European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) is required for this. The EHIC is issued by the health insurance company of the person covered by statutory health insurance. Further information on benefits in kind in the Netherlands can be obtained directly from the health insurance company. (Reference: www.dvka.de/media/dokumente/merkblaetter/arbeiten_im_ausland/Arbeiten_Niederlande.pdf) (in German).
Useful information on health insurance coverage during a temporary stay in the Netherlands can also be found in the leaflet "Urlaub in den Niederlanden” (in German). www.dvka.de/media/dokumente/merkblaetter/urlaub_im_ausland/Urlaub_Niederlande.pdf
