STEP 3: Risk Assessment
For most types of travel, completion of the Mandatory Overseas Travel Notification will be your Risk Assessment, alongside the University’s Generic Overseas Travel Risk Assessment. Please check that your activities and destination risk align with this risk assessment. The Travel Website Page provides links to sources of information and Handbooks on what to include in an Activity Risk Assessment e.g. political situation, vaccinations.
Travellers should be mindful some countries and regions may have different attitudes towards certain travellers, for example, lone females, LGBT. The FCDO has useful information for LGBT and lone female travellers with links to other organisations to help prepare and identify areas which may potentially be unsafe.
Human Resources has also prepared a Working Overseas Equality Guide for Staff.
Higher-Risk Activities & Destinations
In some cases, usually dependent on the area visited or the activity undertaken completion of the on-line Mandatory Overseas Travel Notification must be supplemented with a specific Activity Risk Assessment, which identifies the risks and controls. This will need to be agreed and approved at a College / School / Service level.
Group Fieldwork a Fieldwork
All overseas fieldwork requires a risk assessment, just as for fieldwork in the UK.
Preparing the Fieldwork Risk Assessment should not be onerous. If done in good time before leaving it is a useful planning aide for general trip logistics to make sure everything is in place. This includes pre-trip and overseas arrangements and Emergency Procedures if something goes wrong.
The Taught Fieldwork Handbook prompts about other issues when setting up overseas fieldwork, such as, Ethical Approval (which may be needed for the activity).
Lead In Times
Remember arrangements can take time. For example, Visas, Passport or vaccinations to be administered a set time before departure or in doses weeks apart.