What is Duty of Care?
What Is Duty of Care?
Duty of Care is an organization’s legal obligation to protect employees from harm. For instance, when employees travel for work, it’s critical that businesses take all reasonable measures to ensure that people remain safe on the road.
Why does Duty of Care matter?
Keeping people out of harm’s way is, of course, the right thing to do. When business leaders create a safe environment, it can establish employee trust, loyalty, and retention.
However, Duty of Care is more than an act of kindness. Predicting risk, taking preventative measures, and responding quickly to crises helps maintain business continuity, which is a critical corporate goal. It’s also a legal requirement that’s recognized and enforced around the world. Failure to provide Duty of Care can land a company in legal trouble. Just how much trouble depends on the nature of the offense and the country in which an organization is based.
Who is responsible for Duty of Care?
Duty of Care is a big, complex responsibility. And far too much for any one person or department to handle alone. Travel managers, travel management companies, finance leaders, security teams, HR, risk and compliance professionals … it’s up to an entire organization to work together and provide quality Duty of Care.
Is Duty of Care difficult to fulfill?
Yes — especially in this day and age. The rise of online booking has blown the once-centralized corporate travel system wide open as employees book travel themselves across multiple sites. This makes it harder than ever to capture complete reservation data, know where travelers are, stay connected, and get employees home quickly should an emergency arise.
The point is, understanding and planning for unforeseen risks is a big part of Duty of Care. This goes for everything from cancelled flights to severe weather to political unrest in a foreign country.
How can a company fulfill Duty of Care?
There’s risk attached to almost everything in life. So, it’s impossible to eliminate travel-related risks completely. The best that any organization can do is to be ready for the unexpected. A big part of this comes from having the tools, partners, and data necessary to provide good Duty of Care.
SAP Concur can consolidate booking, expense, credit card, and mobile data from multiple sources in near real-time. That way, companies create a comprehensive and integrated Duty of Care program that allows you 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
Learn more about Duty of Care
Ready to expand your knowledge about Duty of Care and your organization’s responsibilities? Take a look at our resources for everything you need to know:
