Travel & Bookings Policy

Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to establish clear guidelines to assist colleagues when making bookings for business related travel and conferences. This policy is to be read in conjunction with the Expenses Policy which it supplements.

Scope

The policy applies to all colleagues of the Society who travel on Society business either domestically or internationally. This policy applies to all colleagues, consultants, and agency workers who travel on Society business.

Responsibility

All Colleagues are responsible for ensuring that they book travel in accordance with this policy. All colleagues making bookings in accordance with this policy are responsible for ensuring they have budget authority to do so. Incurring expenses via Click Travel Ltd without the appropriate authority or in breach of the Expenses Policy may result in disciplinary action.
Line managers are responsible for ensuring that expenses are approved in accordance with this policy and the Expenses Policy. Where a line manager authorises an exception to this policy, it should be documented in writing.
The Society is committed to seeking value for money in travel bookings. To assist with this, colleagues should ensure that booking requests are made in good time in advance of travel to help ensure best rates are obtained.

 How to Book

All travel requirements must be booked through Click Travel Ltd or via their online booking platform.

To obtain login details for the booking platform please email: iteam@clicktravel.com.

CLICK TRAVEL CAN BE CONTACTED AT:
Email	res@clicktravel.com	Additional support
Online Booking Platform	http://my.clicktravel.com	Air Travel, Rail & Hotel reservations
Telephone	0844 745 2121	For ground transportation, conference, meetings and group bookings
Office opening hours	9.00am to 5pm Monday to Friday	Call 08447452121
Online Chat Service with Click Travel Team	https://www.clicktravel.com Service available: Monday to Friday 08:00 – 19:00	Click the speech bubble at the bottom right of the page to start a conversation with the travel team
Emergency Service	0844 745 2121 (or +44 121 510 2269 from outside the UK)	Available outside of office hours 365 days per year This service should be use for a genuine emergency only and not for new non-urgent bookings

Rail Travel

Rail travel must be booked online via the Click Travel Ltd platform and this service is available 24 hours a day.

It is recommended that all rail travel is booked as far in advance as possible to obtain the best available fare for your journey. Where first class travel is available at a lower overall cost than standard class, or where a single continuous train journey is 2 hours or more (i.e. not including connecting journeys) and a table can be secured, first class travel is permitted. In these instances, approval from your line manager will be required.

Employee Type	Class Allowed
All Colleagues	All colleagues standard class (except where 1st class is less expensive or if the train journey exceeds 2 hours and a table is secured)

 Hotels

Hotels must be booked online via the Click Travel Ltd platform and this service is available 24 hours a day.

The Click Travel Ltd system will provide the best hotel rates including any negotiated Society rates where we book as a Society a significant number of room nights. If any of the rates you would normally book are not displayed please email iteam@clicktravel.com and these will be added for you, where appropriate.

The table below details the maximum available allowance for your colleagues by area/region. It is recognised that there may be occasions (e.g. London Fashion Week, Wimbledon in London) where it will not be possible to find suitable accommodation within these rates caps and in such cases an exception will be permitted provided that you have prior written authority from your line manager. Click Travel Ltd can assist with bookings during these times.

AREA/REGION	All Colleagues
London (within M25)	£140
City Rate	£100
Provinces	£75

All hotels booked via the Click Travel Ltd system will be billed back to the selected cost centre for Bed and Breakfast and Evening meal up to a value of £20. You will not be required to pay this and reclaim on expenses. Where booking a room only rate you can add breakfast and/or dinner as appropriate.

If you prefer to eat dinner outside of the hotel then you should book Bed and Breakfast only and reclaim for dinner via expenses, in accordance with the Expenses Guidelines.

Conference, Meetings and Group Bookings

Meetings, conferences and group bookings should be placed through Click Travel Ltd between 9am and 5.30pm, Monday to Friday.

When booking a meeting or conference, consideration should always be given to internal meeting facilities, availability can be checked on Tavern.

Click Travel Ltd will source and book the following external facilities:

• Venues

• Room Hire

• Accommodation

• Equipment Hire

• Catering

All venue bookings, both internal and external, should be made as early as possible to maximise the range of options available and in the case of external bookings, maximise the potential to secure preferential rates.

Dinner, Bed and Breakfast can be arranged by Click Travel Ltd for a conference, meeting and group bookings that include an overnight stay, where appropriate and required.

Please note that Click Travel Ltd will not manage the event.

Air Travel

Air travel must be booked online via the Click Travel Ltd platform and this service is available 24 hours a day.

It is recommended that all air travel is booked as far in advance as possible to obtain the best available fare for your journey. Discount and budget fares will always be recommended when available and should be taken.

Line manager authority is required for domestic flights, they should only be considered where they compare favourably with the equivalent cost of the journey by standard class rail at the lowest available fare. Associated costs of airport parking, taxi and rail shuttle transfers should also be considered when comparing costs.

If a situation arises that prevents the lowest priced option to be taken, approval will be required from your line manager.

Air Travel	Applicable to	Travel Entitlement
Under 6 hours	All colleagues	Entitles to travel economy class only
Over 6 hours or overnight	All colleagues	The lowest business class fare, or premium economy where applicable

Ground Transportation

If there is a requirement for coaches, transfers or car hire this can be booked using the phone number or email address above. Click Travel Ltd will source and book the most cost effective and appropriate option for the enquiry.

Additional Support

If you require any additional support, you can speak to Click Travel Ltd on 0844 745 2121 or res@clicktravel.com.

 

Policy Name	Travel & Bookings Policy	Date of last review	May 2019
Policy Owner	PSG	Issue Number	PSG-SM-002