During sports activities organised as part of a regular on-campus term at the university, students and staff at BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg are covered by accident insurance through the Brandenburg Accident Insurance Fund as part of the university sports programme (see the notes below for details).

Accidents must be reported to the University Sports Programme immediately (within 3 days) and an accident report must be completed. The relevant form can be obtained from the University Sports Programme. Should a visit to a doctor be necessary, a D-Arzt (accidents and occupational health doctor) must be consulted. The contact details are listed on the green first-aid posters in the sports facilities.

Guests (external visitors, alumni and students from other universities) as well as independent sports groups are generally not insured, either during in-person sessions or for online activities, and are therefore responsible for their own insurance cover. 

In accordance with the provisions of the Brandenburg Accident Insurance Fund and on the basis of Book VIII of the Social Code, ‘students undergoing education and further training at universities’ are insured against accidents at work.

Students’ voluntary participation in general university sports is deemed to be covered by insurance provided the following conditions are met:

• The sporting activities must be of an official university nature.
• General university sports must be organised by the university itself or by a university-affiliated institution.
• The sporting activity must take place within the official programme, i.e. during the scheduled times and under the supervision of an appointed sports instructor.
• The participant must have completed registration in the proper manner; in other words, there is no insurance cover without registration.

The BTU sports programme meets the above conditions.

However, the following are expressly excluded:

• unorganised sporting activities outside the organised exercise programme, as well as the pursuit of competitive sport in university and other sports clubs
• competitive sport against other universities (with the exception of partner universities)
• Workshops
• Mind sports
• Events that are not organised by BTU Sport itself but are arranged through other providers (e.g. golf, sports trips)

Students of other universities are not insured.

Workers and employees are protected against accidents that are directly attributable to their employment or service. In the case of sports-related accidents involving civil servants, the employer must assess whether the incident constitutes an accident in the course of duty within the meaning of the State Civil Service Act. A prerequisite for recognition is that the sporting activity must be expressly declared by the line manager to be necessary for the performance of duties. Sporting activities undertaken as a form of recreational sport are only covered by accident insurance if they constitute ‘company sport’.

According to the case law of the Federal Social Court, company sport has the following characteristics:

• It must serve to compensate for physical, mental or nervous strain caused by professional activities.
• It must be practised with a certain degree of regularity.  
• The group of participants must be essentially limited to the workforce of the organising company.  
• The times and duration of the sessions must be related to the company’s activities in a way that serves the purpose of providing relief.  
• It must take place within the framework of a company-based organisation and be purposefully organised by that organisation or by a representative appointed by it.

The following elements are not, or are only with difficulty, compatible
with this definition:

• Competitive sport, including within the framework of company sports clubs, and training geared towards this.
• Sporting activities that clearly run counter to the purpose of work-life balance.
• Mere use of the company’s recreational sports facilities.
• Sporting activities on days off or long after the end of working hours.

Unless more generous provisions apply,
employees taking part in sport should, in their own interests, observe the criteria set out above. The employer, i.e. the University President, must assess on a case-by-case basis whether participation in the ZEH programme is to be regarded as company sport for the employee concerned. 

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