Travel Policy

NET Ministries Scotland Travel Policy

Date of Initial Publication: March 2023

Applicable to: all NET Scotland staff, supervisors, mission staff and team members to adhere to.

This policy was put in place to ensure the highest level of safety for all within the NET Scotland community.

Introduction

All travelers must register and receive approval for travel from the NET Scotland Director. NET

Ministries Scotland retains the right to deny permission to travel if it does not comply fully with

the standards detailed below.

1. Purpose

This policy is intended to:

  • Establish clear standards to guide individuals who engage in NET Ministries Scotland business travel or other NET Scotland-sponsored travel, whether travel is domestic or international, including the personal travel of missionaries and supervisors while serving with NET Scotland.

  • Support the safety of those traveling for NET Scotland business or participating in other NET Scotland sponsored travel.

  • Ensure compliance with external and internal requirements and laws

2. Scope and Applicability

This policy governs any travel (as defined below) that is sponsored by NET MinistriesScotland;

undertaken as part of an individual’s NET Scotland role and responsibilities or

personal travel undertaken over the course of the year while the individual is serving as a

missionary or as mission staff with NET Scotland.

The expectations set forth in this policy apply to all NET Ministries Scotland volunteers,

mission staff and missionaries.

3. Definitions

When used in this policy, the following terms have the following meanings:

  • Business means conducting any work for the benefit of NET Scotland using NET Scotland resources.

  • Domestic means travel within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.

  • High-Risk Areas means countries or locations within countries, which carry U.K. Foreign Office warnings advising against travel.

  • International means travel that is not Domestic.

  • Travel means trips of any duration and any distance from the NET Centre in Glasgow, Scotland, that involve international travel, air travel or overnight accommodations for one or more nights.

4. Risk Mitigation

Prior to booking travel, NET Scotland mission staff and missionaries must:

  • Register their travel with the NET Scotland Director.

  • Obtain all approvals required by NET Scotland policies. N.B. Travel to or in high-risk areas as ranked by the UK Foreign Office (FCDO) is not allowed.

  • Obtain all necessary travel documents, including a passport, appropriate visas and other entry requirements and documents, and proof of any required vaccinations or other medical approvals if required for international travel.

  • Purchase appropriate personal travel Insurance. Please note: NET Ministries Scotland  requires all travelers to gain travel and health insurance for the duration of their trips outside the UK, noting that the health insurance (UKVI visa holders) that they have in the UK does not apply outside the UK border. Note: Health cover (NHS Surcharge) associated with their UKVI Visa is effective only while they are within the UK borders.

5. Accommodations

When booking accommodation;

  • NET Ministries Scotland staff or volunteers are not permitted to share hotel rooms or private sleeping quarters with mission staff or missionaries unless they have a family relationship.

  • NET Ministries Scotland staff, volunteers, mission staff and missionaries are not permitted to share exclusive (ie. only they have private access to this space) sleeping quarters (hotel rooms, youth hostels, airbnb’s etc) with individual members of the opposite sex.

  • This does not apply to travelling in groups of larger than two, eg. if the team is staying all together in a certain accommodation or if 2 men and 2 women are staying together as a group.

  • NET missionaries or mission staff are not permitted to approach Host Homes for accommodation at any point directly, instead they must speak to one of NET Staff to arrange any alternative accommodation. Host Homes are allocated by Mary Shields during ministry and are not normally used for holiday time.

6. Conduct

  • The same conduct expectations that apply to staff, volunteers, mission staff and missionaries whilst serving with NET Scotland also apply throughout the duration of travel.

  • This includes our sexual conduct policy, alcohol policy and personal conduct agreement. Missionaries will remember that they always represent NET Ministries Scotland.

  • Missionaries and mission staff must travel in groups of at least three when both men and women are travelling together. When traveling in a group of two, both individuals must be of the same gender.

  • Those in positions of authority have a responsibility to respond appropriately to missionaries health, well-being and emergency needs that may arise, regardless of timing. Accordingly, all parties involved are expected to conduct themselves with professionalism and maintain on-call availability throughout the period of travel.

Addendum: Travel Policy note to Parents;

As a member of the Scotland team, your child will be given the opportunity to travel throughout the UK as part of their service year. We also include an extended break over Christmas and a week-long break around Easter time in which team members are free to travel as they wish. Often the team members have gone home over Christmas and have utilized the Easter break to each pursue personal travel. Team members have gone in groups to visit cities across Europe, some have spent time at Convents or Friaries to experience religious life, some have had family members visit and travel with them through these times. We're happy for our team to take advantage of this year to experience more new cultures and fully support all these travel plans!

Points to note:

  • Our policy deals with travel that team members will take throughout this year, including in their capacity as a team member and any personal travel they take. As a UK Home Office Sponsoring Agency we are responsible to the UK Government for those who have come to serve with NET Scotland on a visa. That basically means we need to know where they are and be able to answer for them from September - June.

  • We have outlined that team members cannot travel in groups of two if they are of a different sex. This is a policy we have to protect the moral and emotional wellness of the team members. We encourage team members to travel in groups of at least three if both men and women are traveling together.

  • You may note that we have not mentioned solo travel. Team members are allowed to travel as individuals. However, team members must submit their travel plans to NET Scotland before their trip and we do reserve the right to deny permission to travel if we deem the travel is unsafe in any way. Of course there is always safety in numbers, no matter what area of the world we're in, so we will encourage group travel as a general rule. We also submit to the personal preference of parents and guardians - a trip may be allowed by our policy but we will always encourage team members to discuss their travel plans with parents and guardians first to ensure your agreement before they take a trip.

  • UK medical insurance which comes with the UK Visa only applies to team members while they are resident in the UK. If they travel to Europe they must arrange additional medical / travel insurance for the duration of their travel.