HEALTH and SAFETY NOTICE
OBUHSN-38 Issue No: 05 Date: March 2018
TRAVELLING and WORKING OVERSEAS
For Oxford Brookes Employees
CONTENTS
IntroductionPage38.2
Definition of Work OverseasPage38.2
Responsibilities and FunctionsPage 38.2
Deans and DirectorsPage38.2
Person in ChargePage38.3
TravellersPage38.4
Insurance and Risk OfficerPage38.5
Safety OfficerPage38.5
Occupational HealthPage38.5
Appendix 1Page 38.7
Guidance NotesPage 38.7
Risk AssessmentPage38.7
Training and InformationPage38.8
Pre-Travel AdvicePage38.8
InsurancePage38.9
Occupational HealthPage38.9
First AidPage38.10
EquipmentPage38.11
Appendix 2: Page 38.12
Overseas Travel Authorisation Forms
Part ATravel Request
Part BRisk Assessment
Part C Health Assessment
Appendix 3:Page 38.29
Risk Assessment Guidance
Appendix 4:Page 38.33
Travel Check-List:
Risk Assessment, Occupational Health and Logistics
TRAVELLING AND WORKING OVERSEAS FOR EMPLOYEES OF THE UNIVERSITY
INTRODUCTION
1.This health and safety notice must be read and understood by all employees of Oxford Brookes University likely to travel and or work overseas on behalf of the University.
Most risks involving work and travel overseas are reasonably foreseeable and can be minimised or avoided.
This health and safety notice outlines the necessary steps that must be taken for the authorisation and safe management of activities for employees travelling and working overseas on University business.
For students undertaking:
- Field trips
- Placements
- Exchanges
Please refer to OBUHSN – 24 and OBUHSN – 43
DEFINITIONS
2.Working overseas incorporates any practical work activity carried out by employees of the University which may include teaching, research, recruitment and marketing activities, attending meetings and conferences in countries other than those of the United Kingdom. Guidance Notes are provided in Appendix 1.
2.1Risk management provides a framework for the general guidance and control measures that are appropriate for managing the diversity of activities and risks involved in travelling and working overseas. See Risk Assessment Guidance Notes Appendix 3.
2.2The application of risk assessment provides the basis for adopting measures that are suitable, sufficient and appropriate for the level of risk.
RESPONSIBILITIES and FUNCTIONS
Deans and Directors
3.The Dean of Faculty/Director of Directorate has overall responsibility for the health and safety of employees working overseas from within their Faculty/Directorate and is therefore responsible for:
3.1Approving overseas travel and ensuring compliance with this Policy.
3.2Nominating a person as Travel Administrator/Coordinator in the
Faculty or Directorate and making sure that processes are in place to ensure that:
3.2.1 The Overseas Travel Authorisation FormPart A -Travel Request is completed by employees who are undertaking overseas travel and submitted for approval to the Dean or Director. The initial assessment of risk in Part A will determine the need for a fuller risk assessment contained in Part B.
3.2.2Travel outside EU and North America and trips involving hazardous activity (e.g. mountaineering or pot holing) require a full risk assessment. If this is the case Part B - Risk Assessment should be completed. Forms should ideally be completed 8 weeks before travel, although it is recognised that this is not always possible and is likely to depend on the visit arrangements.
3.2.3Part C – Travel Health Assessment is completed if
required following the risk assessment for medium to high risk visits and as part of the pre-employment health screen for employees who regularly travel overseas on behalf of the university.
3.2.4The completed documentation has been submitted so that the appropriate parties, Oxford Brookes International (OBI), Safety Officer, Occupational Health (OH), and Faculty contacts have received the relevant travel risk assessment documentation for evaluation, authorisation and to update the travel database in a timely manner.
See Appendix 2: Overseas Travel Authorisation Forms
Part A Travel Request
Part B Risk Assessment
Part C Travel Health Assessment
See Appendix 4: Travel Checklist
Person in Charge (PIC)
4.The PIC is the person in the Faculty/Directorate with local managerial control of the overseas trip. The PIC may, in some instances be the Traveller, Lead Traveller or the Traveller’s Line Manager or nominee, and must be:
4.1Competent in managing the health and safety risks of the trip.
4.2Ensure that, where appropriate, the risk control measures identified in the risk assessment are followed in practice.
4.3Report all accidents occurring during the trip.
4.4Where significant risks have been identified the PIC shall ensure
that:
4.4.1A suitable and sufficient risk assessment has been
completed and documented and that control measures are defined and in place from the outset.
4.4.2The frequency and method of contact between the traveller(s) and the PIC needs to be agreed in writing and contact documented.
4.4.3The Traveller(s) or Lead Traveller undertaking the overseas visit and in charge of the work activity is appropriately competent to manage the health and safety risks of the visit.
4.4.4All involved are provided with appropriate information and training and where necessary have their competency assessed before the trip commences.
4.4.5All relevant travel documentation for authorisation is
brought to the attention of the Dean or Director.
The Traveller(s)
5.All Travellers must give reasonable notice of their intention to travel such that the overseas visit can be properly evaluated for approval and any necessary arrangements made. Approval must be obtained before travel arrangements are made.
5.1All travellers participating in the trip must:
5.1.1Ensure that the trip has been properly authorised.
Travelling Overseas Authorisation Form Part A – Travel Request.
5.1.2Comply with health and safety arrangements for the trip as specified in the risk assessment - completing Travelling Overseas Authorisation Form Part B and Part C where appropriate.
5.1.3Seek medical advice when necessary.
5.1.4Advise the PIC of personal circumstances or restrictions that may impact on their fitness or put them at increased risk of harm.
5.1.5Maintain regular contact with the PIC or their nominee and report accidents and dangerous occurrences to the PIC.
5.1.6Not put themselves or others at risk.
5.2Every employee has a responsibility to conduct themselves in an appropriate manner and, where necessary, in accordance to the local conditions they will encounter. They must also co-operate with the University in the execution of its responsibilities.
Insurance and Risk Officer
6.The University Insurance and Risk Officer shall:
6.1Maintain appropriate insurance as directed by the Director of Finance and/or Executive Board.
6.2Provide advice and guidance on matters of insurance.
Safety Officer
7.The role of the Safety Officer is to:
7.1Evaluate and approve all Travel Risk Assessments (Part B).
7.2Provide specialist advice and guidance on risk assessments.
7.3Define / give advice on the necessary competencies.
7.4Arrange training in the management and control of health and safety risks for offsite work / field trips as required.
Occupational Health
8.The role of Occupational Health (OH) is to provide specialist advice and guidance on health risk and fitness for travel. This includes:
8.1Fitness for role at pre-employment stage (where travel is an
integral part of the role).
8.2Conducting travel health assessments where appropriate.
8.3Ensuring that advice has been given in relation to the vaccinations and in-country health advice.
8.4Conducting post-travel checks when required.
Oxford Brookes International
9.The role of Oxford Brookes International (OBI) is to work with the other parties to ensure that travellers are best prepared for their overseas visits, that processes are in place for travel plans and that OBI’s expertise is used, where appropriate, to assist travellers in their overseas visits. This will include:
9.1Development and maintenance of guidance notes and travellers
forms on the intranet.
9.2Maintenance of a central database of travellers.
9.3Coordinating, with a delegated member of SMT, a University response to any major incident overseas.
Approved by:Issued by:
......
(Vice-Chancellor) (Safety Officer) (Senior Occupational Health Advisor)
Appendix 1
GUIDANCE NOTES
All those involved in travel e.g. Travellers, PIC and Travel Co-ordinator / Administrator(s) are advised to read the following guidance notes.
- TRAVELLERS
Flights: Flights may be booked with one of the University’s approved travel agents via Brookes Travel ( or extension 3901) and in line with the University’s Financial Administration Handbook.
The Travel Check-List: Risk Assessment, Occupational Health and Logistics (Appendix 4) is a useful checklist to enable the traveller to determine whether all aspects of the administration and preparation arrangements of the proposed visit have been adequately covered.
The OBI intranet site also provides useful sources of information on different countries.
Travellers should also consult with their Travel Administrators in their Faculty / Directorate to ensure that they are properly prepared.
- RISK ASSESSMENT
Travellers and PICs may wish to consult the following documents in the preparation of the Travel Risk Assessment (Part B):
- OBUHSN-36 Risk Assessment
safety/docs/obuhs36.html
- OBUHSN-24 Field work and Outdoor Education
safety/docs/obuhsn24.html
The nature and complexity of the assessment will vary with the type of activity intended and should be appropriate to the actual risk that the identified hazards pose in the particular circumstances.
The overall risks of the visit should be considered for all trips and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and CR24 website consulted . Higher risk destinations will require a full risk assessment to be completed (Travel Authorisation Form Part B (Risk Assessment) and submitted to the Safety Officer.
Conferences held overseasmay not be particularly hazardous and in these cases only the Travel Authorisation Form Part A (Travel Request) willneed to be completed.
In some cases the work itself will not be particularly hazardous and consideration will only need to be given to local conditions.
Where hazardous work is to be undertaken some assumptions may need to be made based on the work as it would be undertaken in the UK. The assessment should be based on previous knowledge, information from the FCO, Travel Agents, and contacts in the workplace to be visited.
In some cases a final risk assessment can only be made when on-site overseas.
Updates to the risk assessment must be completed if there is any change to original travel plan or work programme. If visiting potential “hotspots” checks should continue to be made up to the day of travel.
Where the traveller is in a country at the time of possible unrest or natural disaster – they must make contact with the designated PIC to establish that the traveller is well and to consider the need for and where appropriate, assistance with extradition.
The risk assessment must be acted upon and a safe programme and plan developed to ensure appropriate measures to minimise the risks identified and are in place for the trip.
The frequency and method of maintaining contact (e.g. email, Skype, phone) between the traveller(s) and PIC needs to be agreed in writing prior to the overseas visit.
- TRAINING AND INFORMATION
The risk assessment will identify particular training needs for the trip. Additional skills may be required for working overseas and these may be partly determined by the local conditions. If supervising others it is especially important to ensure supervisors have the relevant skills.
4.PRE-TRAVEL ADVICE
The University’s insurers provide a travel information service in conjunction with Control Risks (CR24) , an international business risk consultancy, which provides general advice and assistance on such things as:
- Business and social customs
- Political situations
- Medical advice and medical facilities overseas
- Health precautions and vaccinations
- Visa and entry permit requirements
- Currency, banking hours
- Time zones, climate
- Driving restrictions
This service can be accessed via the internet and is free of charge.
To locate the service, go to and click on the link to the Control Risk website, under the Travel section of the web page.
The user names and password which are required to access this service can be found at the following website
5. INSURANCE
Staff engaged in overseas travel as part of their duties, are automatically provided with travel insurance, full details of which can be found on:
Staff engaged on overseas travel must be informed about their insurance cover and should be advised to take out additional personal insurance if necessary. For any details of additional cover as part of an extension to an authorised journey please check with the University’s Insurance Officer.
The Finance Department at Oxford Brookes University has responsibility for dealing with insurance matters. The person to contact for further advice is the Insurance and Risk Officer.
6. OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH
All travellers must have read the Occupational Health information for overseas travellers and have arranged to visit OH if appropriate.
Employees with pre-existing health problems should actively consider contacting OH before their planned trip. In the first instance the employee should also seek the advice of their GP on their fitness to travel.
Employees who have had time off work (4 weeks or more) for any physical or mental health problem and proposing to undertake an overseas visit may wish to contact OH for advice.
The employee is responsible for informing the OH Department of any changes to their health status. A change in health status may result in advice that a formal Travel Health Assessment is completed (Part C).
Part B –Risk Assessment will determine whether a full Travel Health Assessment (Part C) is required for individual trips.
If required, advice on fitness for travel should be sought in advance in the planning stages from the OH Department. The Travel Health Assessment Form (Part C) should be submitted preferably8 weeks before the intended date of travel so that the traveller is informed about and has had their vaccinations in line with clinical practice standards.
Arrangements are in place for members of staff to have the required vaccinations either through the OBU Medical Centre or their own GP to suit their individual needs.
Travel Health Assessments are designed to ensure that health problems that could impact on safety or require treatment in the field are appropriately managed and that those travelling to tropical countries receive recommended vaccinations and, for example, protection against malaria.
Faculties and Directorates are responsible for funding vaccinations or malarial prophylaxis needed for travel on University business.
It is advisable that a Travel Health Assessment is completed for trips outside North West Europe and North America, if the traveller is undertaking regular trips to these regions or proposed visit(s) are deemed to be of medium to high risk.
Fitness for travel may be withheld in exceptional circumstances where there is a clear danger to the employee or others should the person becomes incapacitated whilst abroad. Advice from the OH Physician would be sought in these circumstances.
The Travel Health Assessment Formwill be held by OHwith the employee’s confidential OH Record. The line manger will be informed of the outcome of the assessment.
It is the responsibility of the traveller, the PIC of the trip and/or Head of Faculty /Directorate, to notify OH and/or the Safety Officer if an employee:
- Is taken ill
- Has health problems as a consequence of their trip
- Is subject to a traumatic event
- Is involved in an accident or near miss when abroad.
If required OH will asses the employee’s fitness to resume normal work on return to the UK and conjunction with the primary care services will ensure the person receives appropriate support.
7. FIRST AID
Consideration must be given to the adequate provision of first aid cover and the implementation of accident and emergency procedures (including systems for accident reporting) whilst overseas.
Risk assessment will identify whether a first aid travel kit is required. Travel first aid kits can be obtained from OH Department by contacting the OH Administrator on extension 5572.
On returning to the University the travel first aid kits must be returned to OH Administrator for checking and re-stocking.
All accidents and incidents of ill health must be reported to the relevant line manager as soon as possible (given the circumstances prevailing at the time), and especially those where an individual has received first aid treatment.
The PIC of the trip, Head of Department and/or Line Manager must inform the OH Department of the accident and health status of the employee.
8. EQUIPMENT
All equipment to be used during overseas travel and work must be appropriate for the local conditions and intended use. It must be able to withstand the rigours of travel and be adequately maintained and serviced.
Protective clothing, transportation of hazardous substances and other such activities normally covered by control measures when working within the University should be considered when undertaking the risk assessment.
If equipment is to be obtained locally to the work environment, the Traveller(s) and PIC must be satisfied that it meets the required standards. The Traveller(s)/PIC must ensure the equipment is in good working order.
Appropriate instruction and training in the use of the equipment must be undertaken.
9. ACCIDENTS AND EMERGENCIES
If the accident or incident is local to the Traveller(s), these will in the first instance be handled by the Faculty or Directorate concerned.
Accidents should be reported following the procedures laid out in OBUHSN-11
In the case of disasters or other serious emergencies the Travel Administrator/PIC in conjunction with the central University database maintained by OBI will establish which staff members and are in the country and will ensure that a designated member of SMT (HR Director) is notified of the incident.
If required the University’s major incident response plan may be activated.
10. TRAVEL CO-ORDINATOR / ADMNISTRATOR
The Travel Co-ordinator / Administrator provides the link between the Faculties and Directorates and OBI, Safety Officer and OH.
The Travel, Risk Assessment, OH and Logistics Checklist is designed to assist Administrators / Co-ordinators to ensure that all aspects and arrangements for the intended visit have been covered. See Appendix 4.
APPENDIX 2
OVERSEAS TRAVEL REQUEST AUTHORISATION FORM
PART A - Travel Request