Travel Management Duty of Care: Critical Elements

June 21, 2019 | For Travel Managers

Travel management duty of care is an important element in business travel. As an employer, you are responsible for the welfare of all your employees, including when they travel. After you make the necessary arrangements for corporate travel booking, you must ensure that they remain safe while they are away and comply with the rules. Corporate travel managers can help with this.

If you neglect to track where your travelers are staying or don’t know where they are when an incident occurs, your business risks prosecution.

In legal terms, this responsibility is known as “duty of care.” We’ll dive into elements you may or may not realize fall under travel management duty of care that can’t be ignored.

What is Travel Management Duty of Care?

Duty of care is your moral and legal obligation to your employees to maintain their psychological and physical well-being, security, and safety while they work. It is imperative when you have employees who travel frequently for business purposes or who work remotely.

As a business travel manager, you should understand the importance of a duty of care policy in the context of corporate travel. You need a sufficient business travel safety policy for your employees to follow. So, before sending them off to their next business trip, take the time to ensure they understand the big picture surrounding duty of care and what it means for them.

For a duty of care policy to be successful, it should define health and safety risk measures for your traveling staff. It should include:

Pre-Travel: Determine the proper steps to prepare for travel. Ensure your business travel management program provides relevant information and ensures compliance among traveling employees. If your travelers often visit higher-risk areas, consider employing a medical and travel security services firm for evacuation when necessary.
During Travel: Travelers should be armed with an easy-to-use mobile application with safety information. You can also leverage robust travel management duty of care tools, such as SAP Concur Locate. This tool allows you to automatically remind travelers of the best travel options, like taking a taxi instead of ridesharing in certain areas and two-way communication in the event of an emergency.

Partner with a travel management company to develop the details of your duty of care policy to ensure everything is covered.

Why Should a Company Work with Corporate Travel Managers for Duty of Care?

Corporate travel managers will make travel arrangements on your behalf and provide guidance and the right tools to ensure traveler safety and security.

When creating a business travel program, they will work with you every step of the way, from analyzing your current risks to tracking and communicating with your traveling employees.

Depending on your business, various elements must be considered when building and implementing a travel management duty of care program.

Employees Who Work from Home

You are responsible for your employees’ welfare, regardless of where the work is done, including at home. You are required to:

Ensure they’re working in a safe environment.
Provide and maintain equipment and systems needed for work.
Know about hazards within the workplace at home and provide appropriate controls.
Establish communication and outline work conditions (e.g., agreed-upon hours).
Provide information, training, instruction, and supervision for employee health and safety while working.

At the same time, employees must cooperate with you for a successful duty of care policy.

Teams That Work at Other Offices

Your legal obligations do not stop in the main office. Duty of care covers employees posted on international assignments or working remotely in other parts of the world. This means you must act prudently to avoid the risk of injuries or exposures that can lead to poor health.

Provide direct supervision or colleague support for employees working alone.
Establish methods of calling for assistance for workers in secluded work sites.
Identify and assess risks present in work locations and provide proper controls.
Manage and monitor the safety and location of employees working in other areas.

Domestic Incidents

Although international threats are possible, problems at home are just as likely. As an employer, you must have an emergency plan if your traveling employees are affected by domestic incidents like tornadoes, floods, and fires. You should be prepared and have the resources to keep them safe during such incidents.

Neighborhood Safety

Knowing how safe a neighborhood is nearly impossible as a corporate travel manager. For example, you might not know if the hotel you’re requiring staff to book on 3rd Street is safer than the hotel on 4th Street. However, you could be liable for requiring staff to book accommodations in an unsafe area.

Adelman Travel has integrated neighborhood safety scores into our proprietary mobile application. These scores allow travelers to quickly determine if a property is safe for women, LGBTQ, safe from overall physical harm, and more. This takes duty of care to another level that is often overlooked.

Other Complex Processes

Duty of care is rarely straightforward, so it’s critical to simplify every process and eliminate any obstacles travelers may encounter.

For example, booking travel and accommodations in a new place will be more challenging if the company expands into new markets. Thus, it becomes even more important to use simple booking solutions.

Of course, you must prepare your employees ahead of their trip. Ensure they understand the necessary preparations and know what to expect when they arrive at their destination.

With the help of our travel management company, you can easily carry out these steps.

Benefits of Working with a Travel Management Company

Adelman Travel has the right partnerships and experience in duty of care that will make a significant difference, especially if your company lacks a risk management department. You can rest assured that our corporate travel managers will give you the expertise of business travel agents who do this work daily.

How Adelman Travel Can Support Your Duty of Care Efforts

At Adelman Travel, we understand the importance of duty of care in travel management. Our comprehensive suite of business travel services is designed to ensure the safety and well-being of your employees while they are on the move. We provide tailored travel solutions that encompass proactive risk management strategies, enabling corporate clients to mitigate potential threats and respond effectively in emergencies. Thus, we ensure a secure travel experience for your employees.

Our proactive team of travel experts is armed with the latest tools and resources to bolster your duty of care efforts. From real-time travel alerts to itinerary tracking, we provide a robust suite of technology solutions that keep your travelers well-informed and secure. Our online platform offers access to crucial information, such as travel advisories and destination-specific safety updates, enabling you to make informed decisions.

Additionally, we offer comprehensive training and support resources to educate your staff on best practices for travel safety and risk management.

By partnering with Adelman Travel, you gain access to a wealth of knowledge and expertise that empowers your organization to prioritize the safety of its travelers effectively. Our commitment to excellence in travel management ensures that your duty of care responsibilities are met with the utmost diligence, enabling your team to focus on their business objectives without compromising their safety.

Duty of care and travel risk management may already be integrated into your policies. However, we understand that this task can be challenging and time-consuming. We can help you design and implement a duty of care program using today’s latest travel tools and best practices, relieving you of this burden.