Team Members Information Pack (The practicalities of being on team)

Transcription

1 Team Members Information Pack (The practicalities of being on team) The purpose of this information: The aim of this short pack is to provide team members with useful basic information as they prepare for an overseas visit. The information has been put together from the experience of a wide range of individuals who have been on teams in the last 7 years; whilst not all of it may be relevant for your visit, it is hoped that it will answer many of your questions. FLIGHT INFORMATION: Wherever possible we like to book flights at charity rates, to keep the costs as low as possible. However, we will always endeavour to offer you a range of flight options with various flight carriers. Please would you ensure that when we discuss a trip, you let us know your full name - as it appears on your passport when we book tickets (We are not able to hold any tickets without this information). Tickets will be purchased for you on your behalf. Loyalty cards: If you have loyalty cards with the airlines you travel frequently with & we are able to use these airlines, please will you provide us with the card numbers when we book your tickets? (There is further information on how to obtain loyalty cards in this pack). Receipt of tickets: Tickets will be issued as either paper tickets (sent to your personal address a minimum of 10 days prior to departure) or as e-tickets (sent to your address electronically as soon as they are purchased). If you have not received your tickets 10 days prior to departure, please contact us immediately and we will organise for tickets to be re-issued to your home address or sent directly to the airport. E-tickets should be printed out and taken with you to the airport. Check-in: Check-in for international flights is always approximately 2 hours prior to departure. However, please do check your tickets for exact information for the time, luggage allowance and departure terminal. If you are a member of the BA Executive Club, you may check-in on the internet for all BA flights, 24 hours before departure (Non-members may also do this 12 hours before departure) at

2 On-ward travel: If you are required to transit on your journey, we will ensure that adequate time is allowed to walk through the airport and catch connecting flights. Typically, this will be about 90 minutes however, this sometimes isn t possible. Please do not underestimate how long this can take in the airport! Passport: When you travel, please ensure that you have your passport with you in your hand-luggage. Please also ensure that it has a minimum of six months shelflife before it expires. VISA INFORMATION: Visas are only required for certain countries (for example Russia, Africa etc). We will advise you should you require a visa for your visit. If a visa is required, it is your responsibility to purchase this. ESTA documentation for America: UK Passport holders travelling to the USA for less than 90 days & travelling under the visa waiver programme will require a machine readable passport and must complete an Electronic Travel Authorisation form (ESTA) at least 72 hours prior to departure. (Countries currently allowed to travel under the visa waiver programme are: Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brunei, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Republic of Malta, Monaco, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal & United Kingdom). There are many websites or travel agents where you can do this. TRAVEL INSURANCE: It is your own responsibility to have personal insurance cover for your trip abroad covering yourself and delays/cancellations to your flight. We would be grateful if you would pay this yourself or ask your church to make a contribution to this. Nowadays there are a wide range of companies offering annual, monthly or single trip policies. However, if you require more information please contact our office. EUROPEAN HEALTH INSURANCE CARD (EHIC): For team members from Europe travelling in European Economic Areas or Switzerland, it is strongly recommended that you carry the EHIC card. This entitles you to reduced cost (or sometimes free) healthcare treatment during a temporary visit. To apply for your EHIC or for further information contact: Phone:

3 Website: Postal: EHIC enquiries, PO Box 1114, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE99 2TL Please Note: EHIC is not a substitute for travel insurance. LOYALTY CARD INFORMATION: Some airlines offer loyalty cards. The three cards we would tend to use most, and therefore recommend you have if you are a frequent flyer, are listed below. Should you wish to join one of these frequent flyer clubs, the website information is included (or you can pick up a leaflet at your nearest airport). British Airway Executive Club BMI (Star Alliance Group) Flying Dutchman/KLM Again, we can advise you which flight carriers work together. ITINERAY & PROGRAMME: We will send to you, approximately 10 days before your visit a final programme of activity and all the teams itinerary. This will provide you with all the information you should need including where you will be staying, how you will be travelling once you arrive at the local airport and emergency contact details. Please ensure that you leave a copy of this where family and friends can access it if required. Wherever possible we like for teams to stay with local families some of our team members have said they like to take a small thank you present to leave with a family. LOCAL CURRENCY: There should be no need for you to carry local currency on a trip unless we have specifically advised it. However, many team members will take a very small amount of local currency, just in case. WEATHER: It is important to take appropriate clothing for your trip you can check the weather of where you are travelling to on the following websites either DRESS CODE:

4 Typically, we recommend a smart-casual dress code for our international visits. For colder visits, we do recommend plenty of warm clothing please ensure that you are easily able to remove layers, as the outside temperatures and the venue temperatures may vary significantly. It is always worth taking a dog-collar with you as some countries and some churches in particular like the clergy to wear these when preaching. This is particularly relevant in Africa and in some of the denominations (like Lutheran churches) in which we work. MEDICAL INFORMATION: Please ensure that you take adequate supplies of any medicines that you might require. The following provides good information on any vaccinations & medical information that you might require before travelling. British Airways Travel Clinic Immunisation & Vaccination centre To reduce any risk to DVT, doctors normally recommend that 75mgrams of aspirin are taken for three days before, during a visit and for three days after a flight of more than three hours. Please consult with your local GP for more information. HONORARIUM/MINISTRY GIFTS: Most of our international work is in the early stages of development. Some local international teams are not in a financial position to be able to pay honorarium/ministry gifts, so as a general rule of thumb we encourage them to be investing in their own future work at this stage. Until quite recently this was how the work in England was run. Now the financial footing is a bit more secure, England is able to offer small gifts for speaking at the English Summer conference etc. Most of the team members who travel on team overseas understand this and feel that it was a privilege to work alongside some of our international teams, receiving as much as they gave. The international teams will ensure that you are not out of pocket with regard to expenses and will ensure you well looked after while you are with them (i.e. collected from the airport, housed and often shown some of the local sights!). TRIP FEEDBACK FORM/GENERAL EXPENSES: While you are on your international trip, we will you a feedback/review form. We would be grateful if you would complete this

5 and return it within 7-10 days after returning. If you incur any incidental expenses whilst travelling (transport to the airport, parking etc) or small subsistence costs on long journeys, please would you indicated this on the feedback form when you return it. We will then reimburse you for all reasonable expenses. OFFICE CONTACT DETAILS: Our office details are Address: New Wine International, 4a Ridley Avenue, Ealing, London, W13 9ZW. Telephone: (020) (or internationally ) Website: OUT OF HOUR EMERGENCIES: For out of hour emergencies, you can contact Tim Starling or Mark Aldridge on their personal mobiles. There numbers are: Tim Starling (overseas ) Mark Aldridge (overseas ) Please note: These numbers are for emergencies only! If you are unable to contact either Tim or Mark, you can contact Key Travel (if your flight tickets were purchased through them) on (9am to 5pm, Monday or Friday & 9am to 1pm on Saturdays). Outside of these times, they have a 24 HOUR EMERGENCY HELPLINE the number is (Please Note that if you contact his number for non-emergencies, you will incur a charge of 100 which we will not be able to reimburse you for). Version 3 February 2010