Erasmus+ Paperwork Handbook 2019-2020

(Work Placements)

CONTENTS NO DEAL BREXIT AND THE ERASMUS GRANT……………………………………………………………………………………………………………...3

WHAT IS THE ERASMUS+ GRANT? .................................................................................................................................... 3

HOW DO I APPLY FOR THE ERASMUS+ GRANT? ............................................................................................................... 3

BANK ACCOUNT DETAILS .................................................................................................................................................. 4

HOW MUCH FUNDING WILL I RECEIVE? ........................................................................................................................... 5

ERASMUS+ DISABILITY GRANTS ........................................................................................................................................ 5

ERASMUS+ WIDENING PARTICIPATION GRANT................................................................................................................ 6

HOW ARE THE ERASMUS+ GRANTS CALCULATED? .......................................................................................................... 6

WHEN WILL I RECEIVE MY ERASMUS+ GRANT?................................................................................................................ 7

STUDENTS COMPLETING TWO PLACEMENTS ................................................................................................................... 8

ONLINE LINGUISTIC SUPPORT ........................................................................................................................................... 8

OLS SECOND ASSESSMENT............................................................................................................................................ 8

OLS ASSESSMENT FOR MULTIPLE MOBILITIES .............................................................................................................. 8

ONLINE LANGUAGE SUPPORT COURSE ........................................................................................................................ 9

WHAT NEEDS TO BE COMPLETED IN ORDER TO RECEIVE THE FIRST ALLOCATION? ........................................................ 9

WHAT NEED TO BE COMPLETED IN ORDER TO RECEIVE THE SECOND ALLOCATION? ................................................... 10

WHAT OTHER PAPERWORK CONSIDERATIONS ARE THERE? .......................................................................................... 10

TRAINEESHIP AGREEMENT – BEFORE YOUR PLACEMENT .............................................................................................. 10

TRAINEESHIP AGREEMENT – SALARY AND INSURANCE ................................................................................................. 11

TRAINEESHIP AGREEMENT - INSURANCE DECLARATION ............................................................................................... 12

TRAINEESHIP AGREEMENT – PLACEMENT AMENDMENTS ............................................................................................ 13

TRAINEESHIP AGREEMENT – AFTER THE MOBILITY ........................................................................................................ 14

A NOTE ABOUT SIGNATURES .......................................................................................................................................... 15

ERASMUS+ GRANT AGREEMENT .................................................................................................................................... 16

FIRST AND SECOND RECEIPTS ......................................................................................................................................... 19

IF I LEAVE MY ERASMUS+ PLACEMENT EARLY WILL I BE EXPECTED TO REPAY THE ERASMUS+ GRANT? ..................... 20

ERASMUS+ STUDENT CHARTER ...................................................................................................................................... 20

CONTACT US.................................................................................................................................................................... 20

NO DEAL BREXIT AND THE ERASMUS GRANT

At time of writing (March 2019) there is little clarity surrounding the UK’s exit from the EU and whether a deal will be

in place covering the Erasmus+ programme and funding provided by the EU Commission by 29th March 2019.

On Wednesday 30th January 2019 the UK government published an update to the Technical Notice providing

guidance to organisations and individuals on the UK’s anticipated participation in the current Erasmus+ programme

should the UK leave the EU with no agreement in place.

The technical notice outlines that the UK government will only provide funding to cover Erasmus+ grants awarded

after the date of Brexit if the Commission agrees to enable the UK to remain in the programme and eligible for

funding. Although not explicit, it is a possibility that there would be no government funding to replace Erasmus+ in a

no deal scenario if the UK government is unsuccessful in negotiating access to the Erasmus programme.

Information provided within this handbook, on the website, in presentations, information sessions, group or one to one appointments and other literature is subject to change before and after the UK’s exit from the EU. The University will keep you up to date with information, paperwork and processes relating to the payment of the Erasmus+ grant throughout the lead up to and during your placement.

WHAT IS THE ERASMUS+ GRANT?

Erasmus+ students (students studying and/or working within Europe) are eligible to receive a mobility grant which is

allocated to them from money which comes originally from the EU Commission in Brussels and passes through the

UK National Agency (the British Council) to individual universities. The Study Abroad team is responsible for

allocating this money.

The grant amount varies from year to year and is calculated according to each students’ destination country and

length of study or work period abroad. These grants are not means tested and you do not have to repay them,

unless the relevant paperwork is not returned or you leave your placement before the due date.

The grant is intended as a contribution to the costs of your placement only, it is not a full maintenance grant and

will assist but not cover all of the extra expenses of studying abroad.

HOW DO I APPLY FOR THE ERASMUS+ GRANT?

Once you have been allocated an eligible placement you will be asked to complete the Erasmus+ paperwork that will

entitle you to receive the Erasmus+ grant. The information contained within this handbook will help you to

complete the Erasmus+ paperwork and provides information about how the grant is paid.

PAPERWORK FLOWCHART

Erasmus+ Traineeship Agreement

(BEFORE section)

Erasmus+ Grant Agreement

Enter Sterling bank account details into

iExeter

Complete part one of the Online Linguistic Support

resource

Erasmus+ Traineeship Agreement

(DURING section, if applicable)

First receipt

Complete online report – emailed to you from ECAS

email address

Erasmus+ Traineeship Agreement

(AFTER section)

Complete part two of the Online Linguistic Support

resource

Second receipt

BANK ACCOUNT DETAILS

Before submitting your paperwork you will need to check that you’ve entered your bank details onto iExeter, under

the ‘Student record & registration (SRS)’ tile:

*Please note: the Erasmus+ grant is paid in Sterling only*

HOW MUCH FUNDING WILL I RECEIVE?

Grants are a contribution towards the cost of the planned Erasmus+ mobility period. The grant rate is set by the

National Agency at the beginning of the year and will not change.

ERASMUS+ STUDY PLACEMENTS 2017/18

COUNTRY MONTHLY GRANT Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Sweden

€tbc

Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Turkey

€tbc

Bulgaria, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Romania, Slovakia

€tbc

ERASMUS+ WORK PLACEMENTS 2017/18

COUNTRY MONTHLY GRANT Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Sweden

€tbc

Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Turkey

€tbc

Bulgaria, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Romania, Slovakia

€tbc

ERASMUS+ DISABILITY GRANTS

Additional grants are available for students and staff with disabilities and health conditions wishing to participate in

an Erasmus+ placement and where participation would not be possible without extra financial support. The

allowances offered when disabilities or health conditions lead to additional mobility costs which exceed the

maximum grant allocations allowed and which cannot be recovered from other sources. The grant covers approved

actual costs.

Applications for the Erasmus Disability Grant must be submitted prior to the start of your mobility. Individuals

risk funds not being available if they apply after they have started their mobility.

Your Accessability Coordinator will be able to help you with your application and paperwork, we recommend you

make an appointment to discuss your work placement with your coordinator as soon as you know where you will be

going.

Your application must include a statement from a doctor or other authority confirming the disability or health

condition, its severity, the impact on the Erasmus+ mobility, additional requirements and additional costs to be

met. A detailed estimate of costs is required.

The application should provide information on any other sources of financial support that the student receives and

why this is insufficient to cover extra costs.

If the application is approved, the National Agency will specify a maximum supplementary allowance. On

completion of the Erasmus+ period a final report of expenditure will be required. If the expenditure is less than the

approved maximum, a recovery order will be raised and the difference must be repaid to the National Agency.

If you have any questions or would like an application form for the Erasmus Disability Grant please

contact outbound@exeter.ac.uk.

ERASMUS+ WIDENING PARTICIPATION GRANT

In 2017/18 a supplementary grant for disadvantage is paid to students defined as disadvantaged and meet the

criteria to receive the Access to Exeter bursary. If you are currently in receipt of the Access to Exeter bursary you will

automatically be eligible for the Erasmus Widening Participation grant and do not need to take any further action.

If you are not currently in receipt of the Access to Exeter bursary but believe that you are now eligible please contact

outbound@Exeter.ac.uk for further information.

The supplementary Widening Participation grant is as follows:

Students undertaking a study placement tbc

Students undertaking a work placement

tbc

HOW ARE THE ERASMUS+ GRANTS CALCULATED?

The dates you provide on your Traineeship Agreement will be used to calculate the total duration in months of your

placement.

The same formula to calculate the grant is used for all students on an Erasmus+ placement from any UK university.

Erasmus+ mobility for work must be between a minimum of two months (60 days) and a maximum of 12 months per

cycle1. The period of time between the start and the end date of the mobility, without rounding up or down, will be

considered to be the duration of the mobility. The duration will be based on full months of 30 days (regardless of

whether the months are of 28, 29, 30 or 31 days), plus any remaining days. A year is considered as 360 days.

The duration is calculated from the first day the student is required to be at their work placement. For example, this

could be the start date of their placement, a welcoming event organised by the employer, an information session for

students with disabilities or learning dispensation, a language and intercultural course organised either by the host

institution or other organisations (if the sending institution considers it relevant for the mobility).

If the student chooses to travel to the receiving institution before the date they are required to be at their work

placement, the sending institution will only fund the placement from the date the student is required to be at the

placement provider.

The end date is the last date the student needs to be present and may not be the actual date of departure. This is,

for example, the last date of your contracted work placement.

If the student selects to leave after the date they are required to be present, the sending organisation should only

fund the student until the last date they are required to be present. In the instance where a student departs before

the last date they are required to be at the host organisation, the student will be funded until the date of their

departure.

Important note: no student mobility period, including any extension granted will be funded for more than 12

months (360 days). Students who wish to extend their mobility will not automatically receive additional funding

for the extension of their placement, approval for the extension must be sought from the Global Employability or

Study Abroad team.

WHEN WILL I RECEIVE MY ERASMUS+ GRANT?

The first allocation of the Erasmus+ is usually paid at the end of October, and the second allocation is usually paid at

the end of July.

We are unable to start payments of each allocation until we have received the funding from our National Agency.

When the payments are received from the National Agency varies each year so we will be unable to provide a

precise timeline of when you can expect each allocation. We will however provide updates throughout your

placement as and when we receive them, due to the volume of emails we receive we will not be unable to reply to

individual requests for updates on payment dates.

Please see: WHAT NEEDS TO BE COMPLETED IN ORDER TO RECEIVE THE FIRST ALLOCATION?

WHAT NEED TO BE COMPLETED IN ORDER TO RECEIVE THE SECOND ALLOCATION?

Please note that the Erasmus+ grant is provided from money which originally comes from the EU Commission in

Brussels and passes through the UK National Agency (the British Council) to individual universities. As such there

can sometimes be delays in the University of Exeter receiving the funding in comparison to other UK universities

and the times listed here for payment are estimated and not guaranteed.

1 Cycle = level of study at a Higher Education Institution. For example; undergraduate study = 1st cycle, postgraduate taught study = 2nd cycle

Students will be provided with updates regarding the Erasmus+ grant payment dates as and when we have them.

We will not respond to individuals asking when the next allocation will be paid.

STUDENTS COMPLETING TWO PLACEMENTS

Erasmus+ grant payments for students completing two placements will be paid as follows:

1st allocation of 1st placement

1st allocation of 2nd placement

2nd allocation of 1st placement

2nd allocation of 2nd placement

Please note that the second allocation cannot be paid until we have received funding from the National Agency,

this is usually paid at the end of July. Please budget accordingly.

ONLINE LINGUISTIC SUPPORT

The Online Linguistic Support (OLS) is an online platform designed to improve the knowledge of the language you

will be working or studying in before and during your stay abroad. The OLS offers online language assessment and,

where applicable, language courses to any student participating in an Erasmus+ mobility activity with a duration in

excess of two months.

OLS assessments are mandatory for students that are undertaking a mobility in a language that is not in their native

language. For example, if a UK student undertakes a mobility in France but will be working in English, they are not

required to complete the assessment. However, it the UK student intends to work in French they would then need

to complete the assessment and could participate in a language course.

If an overseas student whose first language is not English enrolled at a UK institution is going to undertake a mobility

in English, then they would be required to take the OLS assessment in English.

OLS SECOND ASSESSMENT

The second assessment is mandatory for students who complete the first assessment. The second assessment is

linked to the original assessment and will automatically be issued to you when you reach the end of your mobility.

OLS ASSESSMENT FOR MULTIPLE MOBILITIES

If you are undertaking multiple mobilities in the same language you must complete the OLS assessment for each

mobility, regardless of whether you have previously completed the OLS language assessment in the same language

for a previous mobility. For instance, if you undertake a mobility in French and complete the OLS assessment and

then undertake another mobility in French you will need to complete the OLS assessment again.

ONLINE LANGUAGE SUPPORT COURSE

The OLS course (separate to the OLS assessment) is aimed at various levels of proficiency. It is more beneficial to

beginners and intermediates but there are sections for those with a better knowledge of the host language.

If you obtain a result between levels A1 and B1 in your first assessment you will automatically be allocated a

language course licence. If in your first assessment you obtain a higher result than B1 courses are available in the

following languages, at the following levels:

LANGUAGES LANGUAGE

COURSE AVAILABLE

LANGUAGE COURSE LEVEL

English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Dutch

YES

All levels

Portuguese

YES

Up to B2 level

Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, Greek, Finnish, Croatian, Hungarian, Polish, Romanian, Slovak, Swedish

YES

A1 level

If you are not automatically issued with an OLS course licence you can request one by emailing

outbound@exeter.ac.uk. Please note that we receive a limited number of licences each year as such they will be

issued on a first come, first served basis.

WHAT NEEDS TO BE COMPLETED IN ORDER TO RECEIVE

THE FIRST ALLOCATION?

1. Sterling bank account details have been entered on iExeter and double checked to ensure the information is

correct

2. You have completed the “Erasmus Work Placement Proposal and Risk Assessment 19/20” on My CareerZone and

included the following information:

a. Placement provider

b. Placement address

c. You have filled in the dates of your planned mobility

d. Module code and Module Convenor

e. Checked salary, holiday and working hours

f. You have ticked what level of language competence you have or n/a (will be working in English)

g. You have completed the risk assessment and mitigated any risks identified as Medium/High Risk

3. Your placement provider has signed the Traineeship Agreement

4. You have signed the Traineeship Agreement and included your insurance information

5. The University has signed the Traineeship Agreement

NB: You have one month’s grace period from the start of your placement to have the forms signed by all parties.

6. You have signed and returned your mobility grant agreement (please scan and return the whole document not

just the signature page)

7. You have completed part one of the Online Linguistic Support assessment (if required)

8. You have completed your Certificate of Arrival and Induction Checklist

WHAT NEED TO BE COMPLETED IN ORDER TO RECEIVE

THE SECOND ALLOCATION?

1. Signed first receipt

2. Completed Traineeship Certificate

3. Completed online report (emailed to you via the European Commission)

4. Completed part two of the Online Linguistic Support assessment (if applicable)

WHAT OTHER PAPERWORK CONSIDERATIONS ARE THERE?

Changes to the Mobility: Should the dates of your mobility change then you need to either complete and return the

Changes to the Mobility page on your Erasmus+ Traineeship Agreement or ask your Supervisor to email

globalcareers@exeter.ac.uk with the new dates.

NB: Any changes to your dates will change your grant allocation

Second receipt: Typically your final piece of paperwork to return (but the one that is most overlooked) is your signed

second receipt, returning this document is a compulsory requirement of receiving your Erasmus grant!

TRAINEESHIP AGREEMENT – BEFORE YOUR PLACEMENT Most of this information will be auto completed using the information you’ve provided on the Career Zone form.

TRAINEESHIP AGREEMENT – SALARY AND INSURANCE

This section indicates whether the placement provider is providing accident insurance whilst you are work, or on

your way to and from work

It also indicates whether the placement provider is providing liability insurance in the work place.

This section includes remuneration, if any. Check that this is as agreed when you accepted the placement.

TRAINEESHIP AGREEMENT - INSURANCE DECLARATION You must have appropriate insurance in place before the placement starts, irrespective of whether the

placement provider is providing insurance.

You need to provide the policy name and number of your insurance provider on this page.

TRAINEESHIP AGREEMENT – PLACEMENT AMENDMENTS

Only complete this section if something changes whilst you are on placement

TRAINEESHIP AGREEMENT – AFTER THE MOBILITY

This page must be dated, signed and stamped by your placement provider recording your actual mobility dates

A NOTE ABOUT SIGNATURES

Typed signatures, and signatures drawn onto the Erasmus+ paperwork using a cursor are not valid. If your

paperwork is submitted with anything other than a handwritten signature it will not be valid and will hinder the

payment of your Erasmus grant. Please note that scanned copies of your handwritten, signed documents are

acceptable.

ERASMUS+ GRANT AGREEMENT

The information you have provided in the Traineeship Agreement will enable us to generate a personalised

Erasmus+ Grant Agreement which you will need to fill in, sign and return to us. Before we are able to pay the first

allocation of the Erasmus+ grant the Traineeship Agreement must be signed by all three parties and you have

returned a signed Grant Agreement in full (do not just return the signature page).

Notes on the Grant Agreement:

Section 5.2: You must tick “Yes”

Section 5.3: Check the traineeship agreement to see if the placement provider is covering you for

liability; if no, you must also confirm that you’ve taken out your own liability insurance

FIRST AND SECOND RECEIPTS

Please note the second receipt is virtually identical to the above.

Please write the

name of your Host

University or

employer in this

section NOT

‘University of Exeter’

Please indicate if you are

completing a full year

placement, or if you are

completing a combined

placement please

indicate whether you are

submitting a receipt for

your first semester

placement of your

second semester

placement

IF I LEAVE MY ERASMUS+ PLACEMENT EARLY WILL I BE

EXPECTED TO REPAY THE ERASMUS+ GRANT?

Yes, the grant is only payable for the time that you are on your placement. If you return home early from your

placement due to force majeure or there are other extenuating circumstances and you have met the minimum

requirements for during of placement, the National Agency will decide on a case by case basis if you will be allowed

to retain the Erasmus+ grant.

ERASMUS+ STUDENT CHARTER

The Erasmus+ student charter highlights your rights and obligations and tells you what you can expect from your

sending and receiving organisations at each study cycle of your Erasmus+ experience.

HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS participating in Erasmus+ have committed themselves to respect the principles

of the Erasmus charter for Higher Education to facilitate, support and recognise your experience abroad.

ON YOUR SIDE you commit yourself to respect the rules and obligations of the Erasmus+ Grant Agreement that you

have signed with your sending institution.

THE ERASMUS+ STUDENT AND ALUMNI ASSOCIATION (ESAA) offers you a range of services to support you before,

during and after your experience abroad.

Please read the Erasmus+ Student Charter in full here: http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/education_culture/repository/education/opportunities/higher-education/doc/charter_en.pdf

CONTACT US

Study Abroad (for payment and STUDY ABROAD enquiries)

: outbound@exeter.ac.uk

: 01392 725738

Global Employability (for paperwork and WORK ABROAD enquiries)

: globalcareers@exeter.ac.uk

: 01392 723844

Bookable appointments: Throughout term time we hold Global appointments , each session is 15 minutes and is

bookable via the Career Zone in person or by calling 01392 724493 .