INTERNATIONAL AND DEVELOPMENT

Transcription

1 Travel Guidelines 1. Purpose RMIT University staff travel requirements are covered by the University Travel Policy. These guidelines provide further details regarding management of travel for International and Development staff. 2. Scope These guidelines apply to any International and Development staff member travelling on official University business both within Australia and internationally. 3. References RMIT Travel Policy: RMIT Academic and Professional Staff Union Collective Agreement 2010 (EA): Airport Transfers Matrix 4. Authority 5. Guidelines 5.1 Pre-departure All travel is booked through the travel portal by the designated travel arranger. Approved itineraries, including details of any planned overtime/toil or shift arrangements are to be forwarded to the designated travel arranger at least four weeks before departure. Business trips should not exceed 21 days in length unless approved in advance by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor I&D. 5.2 Safety Staff members should visit the International SOS website prior to departure and print out an emergency contact card ( 2FMasterPortal%2Fdefault.aspx%3Fmembnum%3D12ACPA000012) Staff and their manager should check the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) website at the time of booking and again prior to travel, to establish whether there are any travel advisories or warnings that apply to intended destinations. Staff are under no obligation to undertake any international travel that conflicts with DFAT advice. The Vice Chancellor may, where the safety of travellers is at risk, impose a complete travel ban to certain countries/regions and may require RMIT travellers already in those areas to return home. 5.3 Travel time The ordinary hours of duty for a professional staff member are Monday to Friday from 8.00 am to 6.00 pm and will not exceed an average of 36 hours per week. PAGE:Page 1 of 6

2 Where reasonably practicable work-related travel will normally be undertaken during ordinary hours of work. Any work-related travel outside the ordinary hours of work both outbound and inbound will be counted at the rate of one hour for every one hour of travel, regardless of when the travel occurs. te: If a staff member chooses to travel outside the ordinary hours of work as outlined above, TOIL will not apply. 5.4 Commencement of duties following arrival To enable staff to be prepared and refreshed from travel, duties associated with the visit should be planned to commence at least ten hours after arrival at the accommodation. 5.5 Time off during a trip If practical, staff travelling for more than six days and working on weekends should have at least one day off work per week. 5.6 Return to Melbourne To enable staff to recover from their trip, staff will not need to return to duty until at least ten hours after their return to Melbourne. 5.7 Class of travel RMIT Travel Policy mandates the class of travel for RMIT staff, which is normally economy class. Where flights are of 12 hours duration or more staff may travel premium economy subject to prior approval of the Assistant Director. There is also sometimes a case for an upgraded class of travel internally in overseas countries particularly when excess baggage costs and length of trip are traded off against additional costs of upgraded travel. Assistant Directors or above may approve upgrading class of travel for internal flights after considering these issues and if there is a negligible cost differential. 5.8 Weekend and evening work: overtime or shift arrangements Overtime provisions It is recognised that travel often involves weekend and evening work during the course of each individual trip. Reflecting the EA overtime provisions, where staff are directed to work outside the ordinary hours of duty, staff are entitled to overtime as follows. PAGE:Page 2 of 6

3 HEW 7 and below: Monday (after 6 pm) to Saturday for the first three hours of work, each hour Saturdays each hour thereafter Sundays each hour Holidays each hour 1.5 hours of overtime 2.0 hours of overtime 2.0 hours of overtime 2.5 hours of overtime te: In the first instance, overtime will be paid. By mutual agreement, overtime may be taken as TOIL for HEW 7 and below. All TOIL earned and taken must be recorded in SAP. HEW 8 and above Positions at HEW 8 and above are not entitled to paid overtime but are entitled to TOIL when working at weekends or on public holidays: Saturdays each hour Sundays each hour Holidays each hour 1.0 hour of TOIL 1.0 hour of TOIL 1.0 hour of TOIL te: For staff of all HEW levels, overtime or TOIL earned for travel at any time is one hour of overtime or TOIL for every one hour of travel TOIL arrangements rmally, when TOIL has been earned, staff will take one day TOIL either side of their trip. For all staff, where a staff member s outstanding TOIL balance exceeds 5 days, arrangements may be made to pay the overtime for the amount greater than 5 days as it is unlikely that staff will be able to take the time within one month of working the overtime. te: The total TOIL days taken before, during and after a trip should not normally exceed the total TOIL earned during that trip Shift provisions Where a trip involves regular afternoon or evening work, a shift roster may be prepared for that period, with the staff member s written agreement. Afternoon Shifts apply where the work finishes between 6.00 pm and midnight. Night Shifts apply where the work finishes between midnight and 8.00 am. Shift work conducted Monday to Friday will be paid ordinary rate plus 15%. Where the staff member works an ordinary shift on the weekend or a Holiday they will be paid ordinary rate plus: a) on a Saturday: 50% b) on a Sunday: 100% c) on a Holiday: 150%. PAGE:Page 3 of 6

4 5.9 Associated personal/private travel and leave Staff may apply to take leave during travel in compliance with the University s Travel Policy. Approval will be based on consideration of the effect of such leave on workflow among other things. If leave is taken during international travel, secure storage of University equipment must be arranged at the staff member s cost. TOIL should also be used prior to any leave. Where staff complete work obligations by COB Friday and elect to stay at an overseas or interstate location for the subsequent weekend, it will be at their own expense and any dispensation for return to work associated with travel will not apply. Travel for private purposes associated with work travel will not result in an additional unrecovered cost and must be: properly documented prior to travel covered by some form of leave (this does not apply to periods between authorised travels when it is impractical to return to normal duties) any additional costs are at the traveller s own expense. Travellers must pay separately for the personal/private travel component of a trip and its associated costs. These costs must not under any circumstances be charged to RMIT. staff members may utilise the TMC for booking the personal travel portion of their trip in conjunction with pre-approved RMIT required travel but will pay for this using a personal (i.e. non-university) credit card. All private travel expenses not settled within the agreed timeframe will be subject to Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT). The Taxation Accountant will determine the amount of FBT payable and charge amount to the Internal Order quoted in the RTP for the travel undertaken. The FBT charge will also be displayed on the staff member PAYG summary. If personal travel is greater than 50% of the journey, travel insurance is not provided for the personal travel component and will require the staff member to augment the coverage at their own expense and be arranged prior to departure. RMIT has negotiated a 40% discount on the cost of travel insurance for leisure travel with Chartis Insurance (formally AIG Australia.) More information is available Per Diem Per Diem rates for each country are set under the University s Travel Policy. Staff travelling offshore (not within Australia) will receive a per diem payment to cover: Lunch Dinner Breakfast is not included in the per diem daily rate. Instead, every effort will be made to book hotels with breakfast included. Breakfasts not included in hotel booking rate should be credited to the University-issued credit card. Other hosted meals included in recruitment exhibition events will also be adjusted from the overall per diem as appropriate. This may be actioned either prior to or post travel. PAGE:Page 4 of 6

5 Where meals are included in exhibitions or events, this should be noted in the travel plan and the per diem adjusted accordingly. All business-related incidental costs are to be charged to the corporate credit card including the cost of transport for in-country business appointments within the city areas and any other internal transport costs. If cash is used, expenses should be claimed on the traveller s return. Per diems are not expected to be used for work-related hospitality. Anticipated workrelated hospitality should be agreed with the Manager and/or Assistant Director and included in the proposed travel itinerary. Costs associated with this should be charged against the University-issued credit card. In those circumstances where non-anticipated work-related hospitality is required when travelling, staff should use their own judgement and discretion and charge costs against the University-issued credit card. Staff travelling interstate should use the corporate credit card for all travelling expenses including hotel, meals, taxi or other transport costs. Cash may not be withdrawn from the corporate credit card at any time Accommodation All travel including accommodation will be booked by the designated travel arranger in order to ensure the most convenient and cost effective accommodation option Miscellaneous travel costs It is recognised that there can be some additional costs associated with international travel. These include vaccinations, airport transfers, passports, visas, excess baggage required for the work. These costs are borne by RMIT within reason. The attached matrix lists all countries where airport transfers will be allowed. Where they are not provided, travellers are encouraged to use cost effective means to travel to hotels such as shuttle buses, airport trains, or local taxis where reasonable. PAGE:Page 5 of 6

6 AIRPORT TRANSFERS Country / Area Bangladesh Brunei Canada China Denmark East Timor Fiji France Germany Gulf States Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain, Libya, United Arab Emirates Hong Kong & Macau India Indonesia Iran Kenya Korea Malaysia Mauritius Mexico Nepal rway Pakistan Papua New Guinea Philippines Saudia Arabia Singapore South Africa South America Argentina, Colombia, Peru, Chile, Brazil, Venezuela, Mexico Sri Lanka Sweden Taiwan Thailand Turkey United Kingdom USA Vietnam Airport Transfers > If airport transfers are not provided, travellers to take taxis from the airport and claim on return to Melbourne > Please note that if arriving between the hours of you are entitled to an airport pickup > If a country falls under the DFAT high risk warning level airport pickups will be arranged PAGE:Page 6 of 6