Herrenberg ruling

The Herrenberg ruling from the Federal Social Court, BSG, Az. B 12 R 3/20 R from 28.06.2022 has developed the way in which contracts for the provision of teaching, appraisal and examinations are classified under social security law. As a result, the criteria against which such tasks are classified as constituting an employment contract, or whether they can be performed by self-employed individuals, have been subject to re-evaluation.

The government has issued § 127 SGB IV. This contains transitional rules that cover teaching tasks and seeks to give universities, educational institutions and the persons involved in providing these services time to adapt to the new legal framework and to enable continuation of the contracts in a way that does not have any legal implications for the social security status of those affected by the Herrenberg ruling.

According to current law, the transitional rules will remain in force until 31 December 2027. One of a number of prerequisites for applying these rules is that both the university and the contractor assumed that the tasks would be performed on a self-employed basis at the time at which the commission was issued, and that the person affected agrees to the application of the transitional rules.

What does consent mean?

In providing consent, you agree that the transitional rules are applied to the respective commission in accordance with § 127 SGB IV.
The provision of consent does not equal a statement that the task that you perform will finally be classified as constituting self-employment. Instead, it enables the application of the transitional rules to the contract in question.
The HWR Berlin will obtain this consent for both certain existing and new commissions.

Teaching, appraisal and examination commissions that have already been awarded

The HWR Berlin will obtain retrospective consent for teaching, appraisal and examination commissions issued from winter semester 2023/24.
If you are affected by this matter, you will receive an e-mail from the HWR Berlin with a link to our form management system. The commissions relevant to you are listed there.

New teaching, appraisal and examination commissions

Consent for new teaching, appraisal and examination commissions will be obtained within the scope of their issue. This consent will be given via the S.A.M. online portal for lecturers. Here you can view the intended commission and provide consent in electronic form to the application of the transitional rules. You do not need to submit an additional declaration. You will receive access to the S.A.M. web portal as part of the contract award process.

You must provide your consent before the HWR Berlin can issue a commission.

Why is this procedure necessary?

This procedure enables the HWR Berlin to satisfy the legal requirements of the transitional rules in accordance with § 127 SGB IV.
The documented consent ensures that the transitional rules can be applied to commissions, provided that the remaining legal requirements are met.
The transitional rules concern the treatment under social security law of possible employment as a dependent employee. Regardless of this, self-employed persons may be subject to individual social security obligations.

Answers to frequently asked questions relating to the procedure and the transitional rules are provided in our FAQ.

Further information

Further information on the transitional rules and the Herrenberg ruling is available from the Deutsche Rentenversicherung and under § 127 SGB IV 

Please note that the HWR Berlin cannot offer individual advice on any social security or tax matters.

• Information and criteria regarding the award of teaching, appraisal and examination assignments