Travel for work and Risk Assessments

If you are planning to travel away for university business, for example for a conference or for research fieldwork, it is compulsory, regardless of destination, to complete a risk assessment and have pre-travel approval.

For information on student fieldtrips please visit the TLSE Fieldwork and placements page.

If you would like advice or support with your risk assessment or an update on the review process, please contact our Compliance, Safety and Estates team on SEEDEstates@manchester.ac.uk.

Process

1. Check the risk rating of your destination

The risk assessment procedure you will need to follow for approval to travel depends on the country you are travelling to. Check the University’s high-risk countries list and use the AIG Travel Assistant to find the risk rating. Guidance Video: AIG Guide to Travel Risk Assessments.

2. Prepare your risk assessment

See Risk Assessments and guidance below.

3. Plan but don’t book your travel, and think sustainably

Use Key Travel to plan – but not book – your travel.

Business travel should only take place where there is no reasonable online alternative, and air travel should be avoided wherever possible. Our Sustainable Travel policy guides all staff in making climate conscious decisions, and you can apply to the SEED STAR Fund (Sustainable Travel Alternatives Routes) to cover additional costs of a more sustainable route via the Academic Absence form. This may be to replace flights with train fares, to pay for a more expensive, but more direct longer-haul route, or to support the cost of hotels where slower travel may require stopovers.

You may also apply to the SEED's conference caregiving fund for staff and PGR students to subsidise childcare, or other caregiving costs, when required for attendance (including overnight) at a conference or training event (or similar).

SEED Conference Caregiving Costs Scheme form.

If you require disability/access information when planning your travel via Key Travel, you should click on the link to get in touch [Travel Enquiry – Get in Touch – Europe] which can be found just above the [Book Online] link on the Key Travel webpage.

4. Apply for approval to travel

Submit the Academic absence and annual leave approval form.

To keep in like with university travel policy, you must complete the SEED Academic Absence form, to obtain:

Head of Department approval to work away from the University.
Risk Assessment approval - Those travelling to low/medium risk destinations will need to confirm that all travellers have read and understand the low/medium risk assessment. Specific Risk Assessments for personal business travel and fieldwork for academics and researchers to high/extreme risk locations should be submitted via the form.
SEED STAR funding for any additional costs of sustainable travel routes.

The form allows the School to monitor where staff are located when away from the University.

Always submit the Academic Absence form in good time – approval can take up to three months when travel requires approval at Faculty level.

5. Book travel, only when approved

Once your trip is approved, book your travel.

For guidance on booking, please visit the travel and accommodation guidance on the Payment types and Approvals page.

Following University policy, all travel/accommodation must be booked using Key Travel, but there are a few exceptions to this rule. If Key Travel is unable to book your flights/accommodation or meet your requirements, then you must request HoS/HoSO pre-approval to book.

Please avoid booking flights and accommodation from Friday afternoon and over a weekend. This is because some bookings demand fast approval, and if not approved on time, you will have to begin the process again.

Key Travel support

For any questions not answered by the guidance provided on the Key Travel pages, please email travel.helpdesk@manchester.ac.uk

You can also contact Key Travel directly via the options below. Please do not visit their offices in Manchester, they do not accept in person visits.

Phone: 0161 819 9797
Email: UoM@keytravel.com
SMS message: +44 7860019411
WhatsApp message: +44 207 843 9602 (this is a prioritised channel with a fast response time)

Risk Assessments for travel to high risk areas

Specific risk assessment template for overseas business travel and fieldwork, in high/extreme risk destinations (Doc ID: 46070)

If staff are travelling to or through countries listed on the University’s high-risk countries, or where the University’s Insurance Company AIG, or where the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has advised against all travel or all but essential travel, then a full risk assessment must be completed and approved by the Head of School and in some cases the Dean of Humanities.

For this to be approved, you must:

Provide robust justification as to why this travel is essential, with no feasible virtual options and why now.
Demonstrate that you have adapted the high-risk risk assessment for your specific travels. To do this you must demonstrate that you have read, understood and addressed the risks outlined in the AIG Country Report. You must also include any specific risks and mitigations arising from your personal circumstance and intended activity.
Remove any risks that are not relevant.
Complete the contingency plan questions at the bottom of the risk assessment.
Confirm whether you are a national of the country you are travelling to. If not, you must include the details of the relevant embassy in that country.
If applicable, demonstrate whether you are a seasoned traveller to the intended destination.
Confirm that you will be limiting your travels to the locations listed.
Confirm that you have sufficient funding should the trip be extended due to quarantine, or if travel restrictions change and it is necessary to quarantine in Government approved accommodation.
Confirm that you have a planned review process to decide whether travel will go ahead.