Travel information for Faculty and Staff and USNH Financial Services information on travel expenses, current mileage rates and reimbursement processes.
Helpful Resources
- UNH International Travel Assistance and Insurance Information - The University of New Hampshire provides an Emergency Travel Assistance Service and Travel Insurance Program to students, faculty and staff traveling abroad on University-related activities. If you experience a medical emergency or security/natural disaster crisis, need a medical referral, lose your medication, or want to consult experts for pre-travel advice, UNH has a fully integrated program in place to insure you receive the care and expertise you need, whenever and wherever you need it.
- USNH Travel Information - mileage, airlines, per diem rates, currency converter, travel advisories, etc.
- USNH Travel Policy Information
- USNH Travel Forms - travel pre-approval/advance forms, personal reimbursement forms, lost receipt form and instructions
- USNH Employee Transition Allowance - If considered necessary by the supervisor and with appropriate campus approvals, USNH departments may pay a new employee a reasonable transition allowance to cover their personal moving, relocation and employment transition costs. If a transition allowance is paid, the allowance will be taxable to the employee and paid via Payroll. The allowance must be (1) authorized in advance, (2) documented in writing to the employee and for USNH files, and (3) directly related to the commencement of employment at USNH.
Compensation Information for Supervisors regarding staff travel
For non-exempt (OS) employees
- Travel Required by the Employer: If the travel is required by the employer, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) provides that travel time is compensable work time when it occurs during the employee's regular working hours, even if the employee performs no work. Also, if the travel occurs during normal working hours (like 8-4:30) on non-work days (Saturday or Sunday for an employee who works Mon-Fri), the time is compensable. Overnight travel is not considered working time if it occurs outside of the employee's regular working hours, and the employee does not perform any work during that time.
The best practice is to document the arrangement in writing, so the employee has prior knowledge of what hours are compensable when s/he is required to attend a conference/workshop.
- Travel for Personal Professional Development - (Not Required): There are some situations where an employee has decided to attend a conference for her/his own professional development. The FLSA says the time is compensable unless all 4 of these conditions are met: (1) attendance occurs outside the employee’s regular working hours; (2) attendance is voluntary; (3) the employee is not required to do any productive work; and (4) the program, lecture, meeting, etc. is not directly related to the employee’s job.
It is important for departments to discuss the parameters with the employee and document the arrangement in writing prior to any voluntary conference/workshop, so all involved clearly know what is compensable and what isn’t. That way, the employee has all the relevant facts about pay and work time and can make a choice about attending or not.
When these situations are offered as professional development for the employee, but not required, it should be presented as a “trade-off”: the employee has the benefit of paid professional development, with the only “cost” being the loss of some personal time.
