Duty of Care
What is duty of care?
Duty of care is an organisation’s legal obligation to protect employees from harm. This responsibility extends to different aspects of workers' activities, including business travel. The concept is especially vital outside of regular workplace settings, such as during job-related travel, where travellers face different risks than they would in an office.
Here is an in-depth look at travel management duty of care.
What is duty of care?
Duty of care is a broad legal term that extends beyond the workplace to many aspects of public life. It means a person is obligated to take precautions to protect others and must take the steps a reasonable person would take in the same situation to avoid causing harm.
If someone’s actions don’t meet this standard of reasonableness, the law may consider them negligent. When someone is negligent, they can be liable for damage caused by dangerous actions—or by failing to provide appropriate care.
A simple duty of care example is observing the speed limit and following generally accepted safe driving practices on the road. In the workplace, duty of care means taking reasonable steps to protect employees from harm. Employers have a legal obligation to care for employees, and there are also ethical reasons to keep employees safe.
In travel management, duty of care involves taking reasonable steps to:
- Ensure employee health and safety
- Protect employees from common travel problems
- Provide basic needs such as food and drink
- Avoid placing workers in situations where they are likely to experience stress or discrimination
In other words, employers should understand common travel-related risks and take reasonable steps to mitigate them.
Why does duty of care matter?
Duty of care matters because it helps keep people out of harm’s way—and that’s the right thing to do. A safe environment can build employee trust and loyalty and support retention.
Duty of care is also a business continuity issue. Predicting risk, taking preventative measures, and responding quickly to crises can help maintain operations, which is a critical corporate goal.
It’s also a legal requirement recognised and enforced worldwide. Failure to provide duty of care can put a company in legal jeopardy, with consequences depending on the nature of the offense and the country where an organisation is based.
Who is responsible for duty of care?
Duty of care is a big, complex responsibility, and it’s too much for any single person or department to manage alone. Rather than being limited to travel managers, it requires coordination across an organisation.
Teams that may be involved include travel management companies, finance leaders, security teams, HR, and risk and compliance professionals. The goal is for the entire organisation to work together to provide quality duty of care.
A practical first step is creating a framework for duty of care and travel risk management.
What is a duty of care framework for travel management?
A duty of care framework is a structured approach that covers the full lifecycle of employee travel. It helps organisations plan, assess risk, reduce avoidable exposure, and respond effectively when something changes.
A duty of care framework covers all aspects of employee travel:
- Planning and booking, and providing employees with trip information
- Defining potential risks for the trip and destination
- Reducing avoidable risks and creating contingency plans for known risks that can’t be avoided
- Providing reasonable health and safety protection and services during travel
- Arranging communication, support, and expert care if needed
What should travel planning and traveller information include?
Travel planning should ensure transportation and accommodations meet reasonable safety standards. Travel managers should book options that don’t expose employees to undue risk or health and safety issues.
Travel arrangements should also account for an employee’s special needs, including accessibility or required services.
Traveller information is also part of duty of care. Travel managers should provide employees with the information needed to manage travel smoothly and access necessary services.
This communication can include:
- Making employees aware of risks and contingencies
- Providing access to a platform where employees can access travel information remotely
How should organisations account for travel risks (avoidable vs unavoidable)?
Travel risk management plans typically address avoidable and unavoidable risks. Avoidable risks can sometimes be eliminated by changing plans.
For example, if a destination has a high risk of traffic accidents, planners might:
- Book air or train travel instead of road travel
- Provide information about a local subway service
- Book a hotel within walking distance of the meeting or conference venue
Unavoidable risks require measures to limit potential harm. This often includes purchasing travel insurance to cover:
- Medical costs
- Evacuation costs
- Lost or stolen baggage
Travellers should have access to insurance details and understand the procedures to follow if these issues occur.
Duty of care in travel risk management also includes monitoring changes at the destination—such as weather forecasts, security updates, and public health updates—because travel risks evolve. For instance, during the COVID-19 pandemic, safety practices changed day to day, and duty of care includes ensuring employees are aware of changes before and during travel.
How does preparedness support duty of care (including mental health)?
Preparedness includes meeting general health and safety needs, not just emergency planning. Duty-of-care examples include ensuring an employee has the necessary vaccinations or medications to reduce the risk of illnesses common at their destination.
Sharing preparation guidance can also help employees avoid stress caused by missing essentials, such as climate-appropriate clothing and other necessities. Some employees are experienced travellers, while others may need more support.
Duty of care extends to mental health too. Strong preparation can reduce employee anxiety and stress during travel.
Why is communication essential to duty of care?
Duty of care frameworks only work if employees understand them. Organisations should communicate each aspect of their risk management approach clearly and consistently.
A lack of clarity about expectations, procedures, or safety processes can create confusion and lead to disruptions or safety issues. Communication is therefore an essential component of duty of care.
Organisations should evaluate how they communicate travel risk information to ensure it is:
- Concise
- Clear
- Complete for the organisation’s needs
What challenges and trends affect travel risk management?
Weather, public health, and societal events have had—and continue to have—a strong impact on travel risk management. Examples include the COVID-19 pandemic, extreme weather events, global economic uncertainty, and civil protests in the US, France, and Canada.
These events can push companies to adjust travel plans, reassess whether travel is necessary, and use alternatives like video conferencing and online project management platforms. They can also increase focus on preparedness and individual traveller risk factors. Duty of care plays a vital role as companies try to limit dangers associated with these challenges.
How does data change real-time travel risk decisions?
The availability of data helps organisations update risk assessments in real time. Many information types can affect travel plans and introduce new risks.
Examples include:
- Public health issues (pandemics, disease outbreaks) that can increase traveller risk and trigger restrictions or shutdowns
- Weather events and natural disasters that cause delays or cancellations and may leave travellers stranded
- Airline workers’ strikes that cause delays and leave employees stuck at connecting airports
What are the key data challenges for duty of care?
Greater reliance on data creates two major challenges:
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Information quality: Organisations need accurate weather forecasts, confirmed news reports, and policy updates from official sources. Inaccurate data can cause delays and may put travelling employees at risk. Duty-of-care requirements therefore include verifying the accuracy and quality of travel-related data.
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Information organisation: Travel and HR managers need to view location-specific data and receive alerts tied to specific employees’ travel. Without filtering and organisation, teams can be overwhelmed and unable to use real-time updates effectively.
Advances in cloud computing and mobile data also make it easier for travellers and employers to stay connected and share risk assessments in real time, which can improve support for travelling workers.
Is duty of care difficult to fulfil?
Yes—especially today. Online booking has expanded travel booking beyond centralised systems, as employees may book across multiple sites. This makes it harder to capture complete reservation data, know where travellers are, stay connected, and bring employees home quickly if an emergency occurs.
Duty of care therefore includes planning for unforeseen risks, from cancelled flights and severe weather to political unrest in a foreign country.
How can a company fulfil duty of care obligations?
Travel risks can’t be eliminated entirely. The practical goal is to be ready for the unexpected, with the tools, partners, and data needed to meet duty-of-care requirements.
SAP Concur solutions can consolidate booking, expense, credit card, and mobile data from multiple sources in near real-time. This helps companies build a more comprehensive and integrated duty-of-care program that enables them to:
- Find all employee locations and itineraries in one place
- Monitor risks and potential threats that could affect employees
- Communicate easily with employees and connect them to expert support
These tools help companies manage travel efficiently, meet duty-of-care obligations, and support employees as they travel.
FAQs
1) What does “duty of care” mean in business travel?
It means taking reasonable steps to protect travelling employees’ health and safety, reduce avoidable travel risks, and provide support, communication, and basic needs during travel.
2) What happens if an organisation fails to meet duty of care?
Failure to provide duty of care can place a company in legal jeopardy. The severity depends on the nature of the offense and the country where the organisation is based.
3) Who owns duty of care in an organisation?
Duty of care is shared across the organisation. It can involve travel managers, travel management companies, finance, security, HR, and risk and compliance teams working together.
4) What risks should a travel risk assessment consider?
It may include natural disasters, conflicts, civil or political unrest, high crime rates, health problems, lack of medical care access, and safety issues connected to identity, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, or other factors.
5) How can SAP Concur help with duty of care?
SAP Concur solutions can consolidate booking, expense, credit card, and mobile data from multiple sources in near real-time, helping companies locate travellers, monitor risks, and communicate quickly with employees.
