Reykjavík requires approval for employees’ foreign work trips

Reykjavík City has tightened its rules on employees’ work-related trips abroad, requiring staff to obtain travel authorisation before departure and provide the mayor’s office with details of the trip, mbl.is reported.

Mayor Hildur Björnsdóttir confirmed the changes in an interview with Morgunblaðið. Employees must explain the purpose of each trip, its cost and how many days they will be away from work.

The city is also assessing the total cost of such absences, including the cost of hiring replacement staff. The new rules form part of wider efficiency measures introduced after a new majority made up of the Independence Party, the Progressive Party and Viðreisn took control of the city.

Björnsdóttir said city officials recognised the value of international cooperation but wanted closer scrutiny of foreign travel. City department managers have been asked to assess whether each trip is necessary and to demonstrate its importance and benefit to Reykjavík.

“Travel can certainly be justified, but we are asking employees to be very critical of foreign trips and consider whether they genuinely serve a purpose or could simply be omitted,” Björnsdóttir said.

She said many trips to meetings and conferences abroad were paid for by trade unions. The city had traditionally considered those trips to have no cost for the municipality, but it had not sufficiently accounted for the expense of employees being away from their jobs.

“We are now looking at these trips differently and carrying out a realistic assessment of their actual cost,” Björnsdóttir said. Travel authorisations have already begun going through the mayor’s office.