All Hands/Toronto2020

What is it? -- Multiple team meetings, happening in the same city, at the same time + some opportunity to get together as one big group as well as with other teams as it makes sense. Then, on the last day, we have a fun social event for all, Mozilla-style!

The information on this wiki primarily applies to Full time and contractor staff. If you are a volunteer contributor or intern, please inquire to your coordinator.

Dates and Location

Monday, June 15, 2020 - Friday, June 19, 2020 (travel days are Monday, June 15 & Saturday, June 20) in Toronto, Canada.

We have guestrooms at two hotels: Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel and Hilton Toronto. All of our meetings will be in the Sheraton.

*For those countries where rest time is required on weekends (vs. work travel), Mozilla will cover a return on the next available work day, if you choose. This needs to pre-approved and pre-arranged.

Travel to Toronto

Everyone will book their travel via Egencia. Expect travel to open immediately after we return from Berlin All Hands. The Egencia instructions will be emailed to anyone approved to attend. New hires will have individual deadlines based upon hire/start date. Approved contractors, vendors, seasonal, status employees will be notified with an email from bmark@mozilla.com with specific instructions.

Important Details: Everyone should plan to arrive in Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ) on Monday, June 15 and leave on Saturday, FJune 20. Anyone who plans to arrive ahead of that or to stay longer, regardless of the reason, must follow the "arriving early/departing late guidelines." These guidelines also apply if you want to fly in or out of airports other than your home airport and Toronto Pearson (anything custom). A few notes:

• If you are a vendor (paid by a company other than Mozilla or Upwork/Elance), contractor, or seasonal staff, those approved will be sent separate email.
• Volunteers will be handled separate from this process.
• We work closely with Recruiting to ensure new hires are invited after their start date. No need to let us know about these.
• If you would like to invite someone who is a business partner, facilitator or some other category that isn't an employee or volunteer (not a personal guest/family), email bmark@mozilla.com.
• Change fees will be covered by Mozilla for business reasons only. Please email bmark@mozilla.com ahead of calling Egencia to make the change. Any changes for personal reasons must be paid by the employee directly to Egencia over the phone.

Arriving Early/Departing Late Guidelines

Our standard travel guidelines apply (pre-populated in Egencia) when booking with a few additional budget constraints. Anything booked outside of them will require approval. Most people will arrive on Monday, June 15 and leave on Saturday, June 20. Here are some exceptions:

1. If you plan to spend some extra personal time in Toronto or nearby (choosing to arrive before Monday, June 15 or depart after Saturday, June 20), you'll need to create a itinerary in Egencia for standard dates/locations within the Egencia Portal and compare to the custom dates/locations you'd like. Pricing for the standard dates should be Round Trip only. Pricing for custom dates/locations should be for Round trip or Multi city trips only. Please share the difference via email to bmark@mozilla.com and receive approval ahead of submission in Egencia. You can sway up to +$100 over and Mozilla will cover it. Otherwise you'll need to come with an alternate itinerary that fits within the pricing (like a round trip in and out of YYZ w/ longer dates, and you personally book & cover the rest). Please note that one way trips are only approved on a case by case basis. Do not book one ways without prior approval. We do not have the ability for employees to reimburse Mozilla for any overage. This scenario also applies for routing through different airports to/from Toronto Pearson than your home airport (ex. a layover elsewhere for a few days, or flying out of something other than YYZ).
2. If you are attending the Sunday/Monday CI event (by invite), you can arrive on Sunday, June 14.
3. If you would like to arrive early to recover from jetlag, you will need manager approval for any additional costs associated with the extension. There is no unilateral "All Hands" approval based upon timezone to arrive early. For hotel, you will book and pay on your own, and expense the manager approved amount (which is coded to your cost center). This policy does not apply to volunteer contributors, any jetlag recovery costs must be self funded.
4. If you live in a country where work travel is prohibited on weekends, you may travel on Friday, June 12 and Monday, June 22, if you’d prefer (not required). For hotel, you will book and pay on your own, and expense the manager approved amount (which is coded to your cost center). You must have approval from our benefits team in writing (and send to bmark@mozilla.com) prior to booking any travel. Approvals and expenses will not be applied retroactively.
5. If you live in a country where work travel is prohibited on Sunday, you may travel on Saturday, June 14, if you’d prefer (not required). For hotel, you will book and pay on your own, and expense the manager approved amount (which is coded to your cost center). You must have approval from our benefits team in writing (and send to bmark@mozilla.com) prior to booking any travel. Approvals and expenses will not be applied retroactively.

Booking Family Travel

Whether your family will accompany you on your flight or join us later; and you have two options: direct with the airline (recommended) or through Egencia.

Direct (recommended):

First, figure out which flights you want to be on as an employee in Egencia. Hold them in Egencia. Find the flights you want for your family on the airline site and book them. Go back to Egencia and book your flights. Once you have both sets of confirmation numbers, call the airline and ask them to LINK your two reservations. This shows that you are traveling together and shouldn't be moved. When you call, you can also ask the airline agent to assign seats together. By booking your family direct on the airline, it gives them "priority" with the airline over people who book via a third party (expedia, booking.com, kayak, etc). These aren't guarantees, but they do help.

Via Egencia:

We do not recommend booking family through Egencia. If you'd like details about how to do it, please email bmark@mozilla.com

Notes:

• We are unable to accommodate volunteer contributor families/guests.

Not Flying

Mozilla will reimburse for mileage and parking (not valet) for those based in the Toronto area; or public transportation. For those outside of the Toronto area who are driving (and not flying), Mozilla will reimburse for mileage up to the equivalent of a benchmark flight. We will not reimburse for mileage if you booked a flight.

Parking options vary by hotel (many don't have lots, or have valet only parking). We will not reimburse for valet parking, rental cars, taxis, Lyft/Uber. If you are choosing to extend your stay on either side, transportation costs are not-reimbursable.

Travel Insurance

Mozilla provides emergency medical accident and illness cover for all global MoCo employees/interns and their dependents. You can view more information on Mana. This coverage begins at the time the you leave home to start your business trip. It also has a provision for a 14 day extension for leisure travel outside of the business travel. If you have additional questions, please email benefits@mozilla.com.

Mozilla does not cover travel insurance for elancers, upworkers, contractors, vendors, or volunteers/community members (unless required for visa application).

Air Travel Fine Print

• Change fees will be covered by Mozilla for business reasons only. If you need a change and have manager approval, email bmark@mozilla.com prior to requesting the change with Egencia. Once you have approval, call Egencia to make the change at 1-877-255-1090 (note this will not be possible without prior approval so be sure to get that by way of an email from your manager to Brianna Mark). If you are changing for personal reasons, the change in airfare, change fee and Egencia fee is your responsibility.
• Mozilla will not reimburse for Business/First class upgrades, tickets or seat reservations.
• Mozilla will reimburse for one checked bag each way.
• Mozilla Frequent Flyer perks do not apply for All Hands.
• Flights booked outside of Egencia will not be an approved expense unless email approval by Brianna is obtained prior to booking.
• Any submitted expenses needs to have an itinerary attached to ensure it is employee expenses only and within policy.

Ground Transportation

We will utilize the UP Express to get from Toronto Pearson International Airport and Union Station in downtown Toronto, and then walking to our hotels from Union Station (~5 blocks). We will not be providing shuttle services (we will reach out to individuals who need assistance in getting from Union Station to the hotels). We will have an online booking tool for you to get your ticket in February/March 2020. We will have discount codes available for 25% off for family members use as well.

Immigration

It is important to look into your entry requirements early as some may need to schedule an in-person biometrics appointment. You can check here to see whether you require only a valid passport, an eTA, or a visa to enter Canada: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/visit/visas.asp. You should also research whether you need a transit visa if you have a layover or change planes in a country that requires it.

If you do need a visa you can request a visa invitation letter during registration.

Those who have committed certain legal infractions are not allowed to enter Canada (known as “inadmissible” under Canada’s immigration law). Check here to see if you might be "inadmissible" (you could be turned away at the border if you are inadmissible, so best to know ahead of time!): http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/inadmissibility/index.asp and http://www.ezbordercrossing.com/the-inspection-experience/prior-criminal-offenses/crossing-canadian-border-with-a-dui/#.VThVDRfnfVp

If you have concerns about being inadmissible while traveling to Canada for All Hands, please reach out to Casey McGill on the immigration team at cmcgill@mozilla.com as soon as possible.

Families/Guests

Of course our focus, for the majority of the week, will be on Mozilla. Everyone is expected to be present and engaged each day, during work hours (as your schedule dictates). Please do what you can to make sure your loved ones understand the kind of commitment you’ve made. Please note that what are able to do for families varies by each location. We are unable to accommodate volunteer contributor or intern families/guests at our All Hands.

Quick summary logistics

• Air Travel: Employees do need to book via Egencia regardless of how families are booked.
• Hotel: Family/friends are welcome to stay with you. All room rates are based upon single occupancy. Guests must be added to reservations in advance and any additional room expenses will be yours to cover.
• Lunch & Dinner: Family will be on their own for lunch daily and dinner on Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday.
• Monday & Friday Night Events: Family members who are registered for the event and registered with the hotel, are invited to join us for our evening events.
• Childcare Services: We will not provide centralized childcare services. We have found that every family has different needs and centralized childcare does not deliver on those needs. If you are in need of help finding options for your family, we are happy to connect you with staff whose families who are coming (#allhands-childcare and #parents are great places to start), as well we are happy to help support finding of resources (although you are likely better at it than us). Given every circumstance is unique, we defer to your manager to determine what Mozilla can support you with financially.