1. Overseas (Non-UK) Travel Health and Safety Standard How to Guide April 2015 (v3)

2. Why is Overseas Travel Standard needed?  International activities are a key area of the University’s strategic plan and the University encourages employees and students to carry out overseas work, study and research.  Your health, safety and security when travelling overseas is important  The Overseas Travel Standard:  Will help you prepare for potential health, safety and security risks  Give assurance that those travelling to high risk locations understand the risks they may face and know what they need to do to mitigate them

3. The overseas travel standard can be found at www.essex.ac.uk/ohsas/overseastravel You will find the documents referred to in this presentation on this web page under Resources

4. Guidance on overseas travel an also be found at www.essex.ac.uk/ohsas/overseastravel/guidance You will find travel tips and links to other sources of advice (including travel health advice) on this site.

5. Planning your visit It is good practice to research the country you are visiting prior to travel. This is particularly important if you are visiting a Country for the first time, have not been there recently, or are aware that there may be security issues (e.g. through press coverage). The following websites are particularly helpful:  Gov.UK (formally FCO) Travel Advice by country  AIG Destination Reports  NHS: Fitfortravel: Travel Health information for people traveling abroad from the UK You will find links to these sites on the overseas visits websites, along with guidance on how to access the AIG Destination reports. Further information is also given later in this presentation.

6. Travel Insurance  All non UK visits require adequate travel insurance  The University’s travel insurance is provided by AIG. It is designed specifically for our needs and provides you with the following services:  Emergency travel and medical assistance  Travel security advice and alerts  Health Information  Destination Guides  Online Travel Security training

7. Travel Insurance  Before travelling overseas on University business / research complete a Travel Application Form and send it to the Insurance and Risk Manager (Steve Couch)  Please complete the form in good time.  You should try to submit the form a minimum of 2 weeks before travel to allow time for assessment of the travel plans.

8. Travel Insurance  For the majority of overseas visits the Insurance and Risk Manager will confirm that insurance is in place and provide you with our insurer’s emergency contact details  If you are planning to visit a high or extreme risk location the Insurance and Risk Manager will advise you that you need to:  Carry out a formal risk assessment  Obtain approval from your Head of Department / Section  For visits to locations identified as extreme risk approval will also need to be given by your Executive Dean or, for Professional Services, the Registrar and Secretary  Travellers to high and extreme risk locations will also need to complete a short online Travel security course.

9. Risk Assessment: The good news  The vast majority of trips will not need formal risk assessment and approval  No need to “reinvent to wheel” for multiple visits to the same Country – just update an existing assessment  The risk assessment process will help you to plan a safe trip  The Health and Safety Advisory Service (HSAS) and the Insurance and Risk Manager are here to help you have safe and event free trip Risk *Typical number and type of visits to countries by University employees Action under new OV standard Risk medium or low767 No formal assessment – recommended that you research where you are travelling and take sensible precautions for your security and health High65 Formal risk assessment and approval by your Head of Dept / Section Extreme2 Approval will also need to be given by your Executive Dean or the Registrar and Secretary *Based on trips that took place between August 2010 – July 2011

10. What are high risk visits? Visits to countries that are:  Graded as Extreme on the risk indicator used by AIG  Graded as High on the risk indicator used by AIG  Visits to countries or parts of countries where the Gov.UK travel advice website has advised against travel due to health risks or natural disasters  Visits that include adventurous activities

11. AIG: Destination Reports  To access the AIG travel assistance site: Follow instructions in the: AIG Travel Assistance and Travel Insurance Guidance  You will need the University’s insurance policy number when you first sign in. It is in the AIG Travel Assistance and Travel Insurance Guidance  Then select Country you are visiting

12. You can print off or email a PDF of the report to yourself This is what the Destination Report looks like You can also get reports for cities This will tell you whether the level of risk is high or extreme

13. The risk assessment should focus on the areas identified as high and extreme risk Example of risk indicator for a high risk Country Example of risk indicator for a extreme risk Country Risk may vary across the country. Your risk assessment should take this into account.

14. You can also sign up to receive travel security alerts for your destination by clicking on the “alerts” link on the AIG website

15. Gov.UK Travel Advice www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice This replaced the FCO website in April 2013

16. Detailed guidance, including health risks Circumstances can change rapidly, so sign up to regular alerts www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice

17. Risk Assessment and approval: Process  Refer to the flow chart on the overseas visits website for an overview of the process  The Insurance and Risk Manager will send you a risk assessment form, or you can get it from the website.  If you need help with risk assessment contact HSAS or the Insurance and Risk Manager

18. Risk Assessment: Sources of information Include:  AIG Destination Guides and Gov.UK foreign travel websites  NHS fitfortravel, NaTHNaC and MASTA (health risks)  Previous experience / experience of others who have travelled or who live there  Training: e.g.: Online security course, Fieldskills courses

19. Online Travel Security Awareness Course  The online security awareness course provided by the University's travel insurers AIG  It is  Composed of 5 modules of between 5 -17 minutes  Can be completed over several days  Each module includes a simple quiz to confirm understanding  At the end of the course you will get a certificate of completion  Go to the overseas travel website for step by step guide on how to access AIG Online Travel Security Training

20. Online Travel Security Awareness Course You will need to complete the online travel security course if you are planning to visit a high or extreme risk destination ad have not attended a similar course in the past You only need to complete the course once You will need to confirm to your Head of Department / Section that you have completed the course when you submit the risk assessment. If you have completed a similar course, you will need to provide a copy of the certificate.

21. Conclusion  The University has a resource of health and safety information to help all travellers plan their travel  There is also information on support available to travellers through the University’s insurers  For most overseas travellers little will change: you will now just need to complete a short form rather than email the Insurance and Risk Manager  Before they travel, travellers to high or extreme risk locations will need to:  complete a risk assessment  obtain approval from their Head of Dept (or Executive Dean / Registrar if extreme)  complete the online travel security course

22. For further help please contact: HSAS: extn 2944, email safety or Steve Couch, Insurance and Risk Manager, extn 2173, email: scouch Have a safe trip