Managing and Supervising Travel

Heads of Department and Service Leaders 

Heads of Department and Service Leaders need to ensure compliance with the Overseas Travel Procedure within their area of responsibility. This includes:

• Retaining operational authority for cancelling, postponing or suspending any travel that comes under their remit, where the risks have been determined to go beyond School’s appetite to accept risk, or if the need to travel is determined as being unnecessary.
• Authorises travel based on a critical analysis of the risks involved and the risk mitigation measures that have been implemented or identified.
• Ensures that all line managers or academic supervisors have been informed, understand and accept any operational travel risk management duties assigned to them.

Line Managers and Academic Supervisors 

Line Managers and Academic Supervisors should ensure that:

• All travellers under their supervision complete the Travel Notification Form and any other documentation (risk assessments etc.) that are required. 
• Travel is necessary and is based on a clear and demonstrable need.
• Travel is authorised based on a critical analysis of the risks involved and the risk mitigation measures that have been implemented or identified.
• There is opportunity for any travellers under their management or supervision to give explicit and informed consent to the risks they may face during travel or to decline travel where they feel the risks exceed their own personal threshold.
• Incidents reported by any traveller under their management or supervision are reported to Health.and.Safety@lse.ac.uk at the earliest opportunity. 

Many factors need to be considered when assessing how much supervision travellers need while travelling overseas or on fieldwork. Supervision requirements vary and will depend on who is travelling (student or staff member) where they are going and why. 

As a minimum supervisors and line managers should consider:

• How often they should check in with the traveller and what happens if a check in fails
• The effectiveness of the travellers contingency plans should something go wrong
• The implications to business continuity if there is an emergency or incident involving the traveller
• The level of assistance that can or will be given by partner organisations or NGOs 
• The health and resilience (physical and mental) of travellers who plan: 
i) to be overseas for a significant length of time 

ii) to travel to very high risk areas  

iii) to carry out research in the UK or overseas that could have a significant impact on their health, safety or security 

Further guidance on supervising travellers can be found on page 42 of the USHA Fieldwork and Travel Guidance. 

Contact Health and Safety about training for Managers.

One in four women experience some form of harassment when travelling on business. The School recognises that statistically there is an increased risk to female and LGBTQ+ travellers. We have therefore partnered with Maiden Voyage to provide the Business Traveller eLearning Series which is aimed at travellers and their managers, including a special focus on female and LGBTQ+ travellers. 

There are five key modules, each packed with real-life case studies, practical tips and additional resources to further your knowledge:

• Pre-planning and Packing
• Hotel Safety
• Safe Ground Transportation
• Safe Meetings & Leisure Time
• Intercultural Awareness. 

They take about 15 minutes each to complete and are fully responsive so you can take them on your smart device at your convenience. You can read more about the learning here. 

So, whether you are a manager, male, female or LGBTQ+ traveller and want to take this eLearning, simply follow this link. You will need to use your LSE email for you to be accepted.

If you have any problems, please email:

erica@maiden-voyage.com or health.and.safety@lse.ac.uk  

The School offers a counselling service provided by psychological health professional Lynn Keane, specifically for travellers accessed via the Health and Safety Team.

Lynn Keane

MA Integrative Psychotherapy & Counselling, UKCP, mBACP

Lynn is a psychological health professional who specialises in crisis response support for staff who travel internationally. Lynn is engaged by LSE to provide trauma and critical incident response sessions and follow up in the form of brief trauma-informed counselling courses. On occasion, we may refer individuals to Lynn ahead of travel that may have a significant impact on wellbeing. Sessions can be face to face or held over an encrypted video platform. 

Travellers will be offered six sessions initially. Referral is via the Health and Safety Team only.