Official travel information and allowances

Official travel

Prior to travel it is obligatory to :

Please note that members of personnel travelling for an official mission should use the cheapest possible route and means of transport. If this has not been observed, the member of personnel will not be reimbursed their real costs, but instead be reimbursed at the equivalent cost of the cheapest means of transport.

Any travel that is not direct from Geneva to the destination of the official travel, due to personal reasons, will be reimbursed at an equivalent direct price.

In general, public transport must be used where possible. During working hours, the CERN navette should be used.

If a car is used (and this is discouraged except in exceptional circumstances or when the destination is not easily reached by public transport), the travel will be reimbursed at the equivalent of the cheapest means of public transport.

Please note that if a private car must be used, this should be declared with the https://edh.cern.ch/Document/Claims/TravelRequest at least 48h before travelling to arrange the necessary insurance cover for an official mission (you are not supposed to travel by car without this and therefore cannot be reimbursed if it is not done). Please make sure that you have filled out the pdf form of the Avis d’assurance, which is found at the link ‘CERN car insurance is mandatory!’ which appears when you select that you are going by car. Once you have filled it, please select the send button (the envelope icon on the pdf), so that it is sent directly to the Legal Service. In order that this works, make sure that ‘add-ons’ are installed on your browser.

Business class plane tickets will not be reimbursed. If you wish to fly business class and to pay the difference yourself, you must provide a quotation of an equivalent economy class ticket for the same date and times, dated on the same day that you buy your business class ticket. (You will be reimbursed for first class train travel).

CERN procedure is that plane and train tickets (if you cannot find them cheaper), should be purchased via Wagonlit. Before going to Wagonlit, you should go the secretariat to inform them of your travel and to ask them to confirm the budget code with Wagonlit, before you go to arrange the tickets.

Taxi expenses to and from the airport should only be requested if the CERN shuttle and public transport cannot be used.

Please note that there is a limit to your travel budget per year, according to your status. More information on this can be obtained from the secretaiat.

Travel claims can only be reimbursed up to 6 months after the return to CERN.

On returning from your travel please make sure to sign and complete the Official Travel request. You should receive an automated notification inviting you to do this, on the date of your return to CERN. This is not the document used for the actual reimbursement of your expenses. The reimbursement claim must be generated by the secretariat so please go to the secretariat with your receipts for the reimbursement otherwise it will not be done.

Travel allowances

The travel allowance for all staff members is CHF 6000 per calendar year.

The travel allowance for CERN fellows is CHF 6000 over two years (extended pro-rata for a third year). They are free to distribute their travel allowance as they see fit across the period of their fellowship, but it is preferable if they can balance it across the two years.

Fellows who are employed on grants usually have an allowance that is decided by the grant holder.

Scientific associates have an allowance that is CHF 1000 for a 1-year stay (reduce pro-rata for shorter stays).

In case of prestigious invitations (e.g. plenary invited talk at ICHEP) the group leader may decide that costs can be covered without counting them against your travel budget.