Business travel
Here you can find information on what you need to consider before, during and after a business trip.
Step 1 – Consider travel-free alternatives
Before booking travel, you must always assess whether the travel can be replaced by digital meetings.
Read more about digital meetings and video conferences at Lund University
Read the regulations and general guidelines for business travel at Lund University:
Regulations for business travel at Lund University (PDF 41 kB, new tab)
General guidelines for business travel at Lund University (PDF 49 kB, new tab)
Step 2 – Manager approval
Travel must be approved by your line manager who has responsibility for ensuring you follow the regulations and for approving any deviations.
Step 3 – Consider the environment, safety and cost
If travel is approved, consideration must be given to the work environment and environment, as well as to cost efficiency.
Fossil-free modes of transport should be the first option. Trains should be the first option for domestic travel. Flights may be considered if the time saved is at least two hours on both the outbound and inbound journeys. The total travel time shall be compared (including connecting transport and waiting times).
As a public authority, we are not allowed to make use of carbon offset credits, such as the purchasing of emission allowances.
Consider cost efficiency and pay attention to all aspects of the trip: transport to and from train stations/airports, accommodation, working hours, allowances etc.
Before you book a trip, you should also check with the Ministry for Foreign Affairs (UD) to see whether there is a travel advisory for your business trip destination or connecting countries on the planned route.
The Ministry for Foreign Affairs advises against travel to certain countries.
Read more about which countries this applies to on the UD website (in Swedish)
Read more about what to consider before and while travelling
Step 4 - Book
Travel must be booked via the travel agency with which Lund University has a procured agreement regardless of the mode of transport. This way, safety requirements and insurance are automatically included.
All rail travel abroad is to be booked through the Danish rail travel agency, Togrejse, via the link to two forms, which can also be found in Lupin/Proceedo.
Read more about booking rail travel in Europe
Domestic rail travel is to be booked through the travel agency BCD Travel:
Accommodation shall be booked via the University’s procured travel agency. Hotel rooms should be of good middle-class standard (three or four star).
When it is not possible to book accommodation in advance or when the hotel is allocated for an external conference, you will have to report the expense through the University travel expense report system after returning home.
Read more about booking travel via a travel agency, including hotels and accommodation
Important information about invoices for accommodation
BCD makes the charge for hotel stays when you check out, but their booking fee is charged at the time of booking. That is why you will receive two invoices. The first contains the booking fee and the second the hotel cost.
Cars shall be used restrictively for financial, environmental and safety reasons. Our procured rental cars shall always be green vehicles.
You can hire a plug-in hybrid car via LU Service.
Read more about the framework agreement for rental cars and the use of private cars
If you have a guest whose travel and accommodation is to be covered by the University, bookings shall be processed in the same way as above via the procured travel agency.
Read more about booking travel via a travel agency, including hotels and accommodation
For short-term and long-term accommodation with cooking facilities in Lund, Lund University has some guest accommodation to offer. Hotel bookings shall be booked according to the public hotel agreement.
Read more about Lund University’s guest accommodation, University Guest House
Information on hotels, via public agreements, can be found in Kommers
Things to consider before and while travelling
- Resources for Global Responsible Engagement.
- There are also some practical things to consider and prepare before travelling, such as vaccinations and visas.
More information on travel preparations from the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (in Swedish) - If you are a Swedish citizen, register your contact details with 'svensklistan' at the Sweden abroad website (in Swedish)
If you are not a Swedish citizen, check with your embassy to see if they have a similar service. - You can also download the Ministry for Foreign Affairs app – Resklar – for the ministry’s most recent information.
Enable push notifications for your country of stay.
Click here to access the Resklar app (Ministry for Foreign Affairs website; information in Swedish) - Remember to review the amount of information you need to bring with you during your trip. Minimize the amount of sensitive information that you need to bring with you for the trip.
- Depending on the country you are traveling to, check whether you can borrow a computer from your IT-department and leave your own at home.
- You will be covered by travel insurance via the procured travel agency. As an employee, you are also insured via Kammarkollegiet’s business travel insurance.
Read more about business travel insurance - For travel-related expenses while travelling, it is recommended you apply for a Eurocard charge card with personal payment liability. Approval from your head of department/equivalent is necessary.
Read more about charge cards - Keep in touch with your family and work place on a regular basis.
- Remember to always keep an eye on your devices and sensitive work materials.
- Use the university's VPN whenever possible, especially after connecting to a public Wi-Fi network.
- If eduroam is available, use it in combination with VPN. If you are abroad, it is recommended to connect via 4G/5G instead. The university's VPN services provide encrypted communication to your resources at the university.
- Avoid using power cables that are sometimes available in hotel rooms for your devices, as these can be rigged to transfer malware to connected devices. Use your university provided charging equipment. If you need power on the go use a Powerbank.
- Never take a package or luggage of unknown content with you when crossing a border.
- If something goes wrong while you are travelling
Subsistence allowance
You are eligible for subsistence allowances and travel cost reimbursements for business travel.
Read more about this on the Skatteverket (Swedish Tax Agency) website (in Swedish)
Extend a business trip
If the traveller, for personal reasons, wishes to travel earlier or stay longer in connection with a business trip the line manager must approve this. The prolonged duration of the stay must be in reasonable proportion to the length of the business trip. You are responsible for the additional costs that occur due to the extension of the trip.
When you return home from your trip
Tickets and other travel-related expenses shall be invoiced whenever possible. If this is not possible, you may report expenses in the travel expense report system. Before the trip you can apply for a Eurocard charge card with personal payment liability if you are going to have business travel-related expenses during the trip.
Remember to perform a virus check on the devices you brought with you on the trip abroad. Also, pay extra attention to phishing attempts that may be linked to the trip.
Complaints
If you are unhappy with your trip or booking, it is important that you file a complaint with BCD Travel at lu [at] bcdtravel [dot] se (lu[at]bcdtravel[dot]se).
Business travel insurance
You will be covered by travel insurance via the procured travel agency. As an employee, you are also insured via Kammarkollegiet’s business travel insurance.
Lund University Guest House
Lund University Guest House is located at Sparta, close to the Faculty of Engineering as well as Ideon and the School of Economics and Management, and a quick walk or bike ride from the rest of the University. Lund University Guest House offers simple rooms at a modest price.
Presentation material
In connection with your trip you may be speaking about Lund University. If this is the case, you can make use of general presentation material. You will find this here:
If something goes wrong while you are travelling
Read more about where you can turn if you urgently need help abroad.
FAQ - Business travel
Instructions and guidelines regarding business related travel.
Contact - Business Travel
Book all air travel and accommodation, and rail travel in Sweden via the travel agency BCD Travel
Self-booking (if you have created a traveller profile):
Technical questions concerning the self-booking system:
clienttechnologysupport [at] bcdtravel [dot] eu (clienttechnologysupport[at]bcdtravel[dot]eu)
Customer service:
Hours: 08:00-17:00
Telephone +46 8 505 461 12
E-mail: lu [at] bcdtravel [dot] se (lu[at]bcdtravel[dot]se)
After 17:00, you will be transferred to BCD’s 24-hour service. Bear in mind that the service fee is higher after office hours.
Changes or cancellations
Contact the travel agency directly or use their website or mobile app.
Booking group travels (10 or more travellers)
BCD Travel Meetings & Events
Telephone: +46 8 5054 6373
E-mail: groups [dot] sweden [at] bcdme [dot] com (groups[dot]sweden[at]bcdme[dot]com)
Questions on invoices and credit notes
BCD Travel AB
E-mail: fakturafragor [at] bcdtravel [dot] se
Booking rail travel in Europe
Contact information for the travel agency Togrejse (LU Box - log in with Lucat)
Booking taxis
The taxi agreement covers the whole of Sweden as well as trips to and from Norway, Denmark and Finland. The agreement can be found under the category ”Travel, accommodation and conferences” in Kommers, choose Kammarkollegiet.
Rental car via LU Service
The Parking Office
E-mail: parkering [at] service [dot] lu [dot] se
Help with interpreting regulations
Employees are to address any questions on interpretation of the regulations and general advice to their line manager. Managers can email their own questions to resor [at] lu [dot] se.
Change your traveller profile name
E-mail: resor [at] lu [dot] se (resor[at]lu[dot]se)
Additional questions
The Purchasing and Procurement office
Please contact us via our support form (Category: Purchasing/"Agreements and procurement")