Defining the Importance of Duty of Care in 2023
In this latest In Focus article, iPMI Global takes a look at Travel Risk Management and what Duty of Care actually means. Taken from the recent round table, International Travel Risk Management Strategies 2023. The round table looked at the challenges and opportunities in the global travel risk management market.
Q: What does Duty of Care mean and why is it important?
Jonathan Brown, Charles Taylor Assistance: Duty of Care is not just an obligation for employers, but also an opportunity; it’s good for business. Whilst the reputational (and even legal) risks associated with inadequate Duty of Care can be considerable, a responsible employer will naturally feel duty-bound to fulfil its care obligations. In turn, employees will feel motivated by an organisation that evidently cares for its staff.
Duty of Care is not just about being seen to look after employees or customers in an effective manner. It is also ensuring that this care extends beyond a box-ticking exercise. It’s about planning for foreseeable risks and making an active effort to mitigate these risks. It’s vital for organisations to think through the practical implications of what this means; either investing in in-house resources or partnering with a specialist provider (often via a corporate insurance policy) to help fulfil their obligations.
John Spears, Global Excel: Duty of care is a relatively broad legal concept that centres around ensuring your actions don’t cause harm or injury to others. It applies to individuals or public and private organizations and often refers to terms like ‘reasonableness’ and ‘appropriateness’.
In the healthcare world, it gets much more specific and often refers to the relationship between an employer and an employee. Central to the theme is that employers have a ‘duty of care’ or an obligation with their employees to provide a safe and healthy place to work. After this though, things get more complicated when defining what that means exactly. Certainly, things like providing a safe work environment, giving employees the proper training, occupational health, safety, and employment laws (which can vary considerably by geographic location), and ensuring a workplace free from harassment and discrimination are all aspects of ‘duty of care’.
More and more, we’re also seeing things like mental health and well-being included in this duty of care concept and we’re getting asked to provide solutions for these services.
What has always been relevant to Global Excel has been the concept of travel risk, and very specifically healthcare risks associated with travel – business or leisure. This is a big part of what we do – manage healthcare risk on a global basis.
The ISO 31030 and 45001:2018 mandates do a great job of spelling out many of these employer requirements from an international perspective. Although voluntary now, more and more organizations are adopting these protocols, formally or informally, and are proactively demonstrating their ‘duty of care’ to their employees and their well-being, whether they be working at home, in the office or on the road.
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Scott Rosen, MDabroad: Duty of Care refers to a legal and moral obligation to ensure that the well-being of employees is protected while travelling or working abroad. This concept can be summarized as follows: be good to people and help them in any way possible. TPA and assistance operations are actually hired to perform duty of care services. Most of us, when put in the position to help somebody, would do just about anything to get somebody the help they need…but what happens when we want to help somebody, and the policy limitations are restrictive to the point where they don’t allow us to do what the member really needs? This is where the magic happens, and we need to be really clever about how we get members and patients the care they need within the confines of their policies.
As a TPA and assistance operation, we are fortunate in that our business model is predicated on delivering “duty of care” services to insurers, multinationals, NGOs, diplomatic missions and other TPAs. Since most of our level managers and executives travel for work, they understand and experience the same needs and services that we provide to members.
MDabroad has existed for over 23 years because we take duty of care so seriously and we focus on the human aspect of delivering service to many thousands of cases per year, while treating each with the highest standards possible.
Gitte Bach, New Frontier Group: From New Frontier Groups perspective, Duty of Care refers to the legal and moral responsibility that organizations must protect the health, safety, and well-being of their employees while they are travelling or working abroad. It is important because it demonstrates an organization’s commitment to its employees and helps mitigate risks and liabilities associated with international travel.
By fulfilling their Duty of Care obligations appropriately, organizations can ensure appropriate measures are in place to prevent or respond to travel-related incidents and emergencies – which is why it is so important.
Frank Harrison, World Travel Protection: Duty of Care is an individual’s or organisation’s legal and moral obligation to safeguard the well-being and safety of others impacted by their actions or lack thereof. It establishes a standard of care that promotes safety, prevents harm, and upholds trust. Fulfilling this duty helps avoid legal liabilities, maintain credibility, and foster a secure environment. Additionally, it encourages social responsibility and ethical behaviour, contributing to a compassionate and caring society. The Duty of Care refers to an individual or organisation’s legal and moral responsibility to take reasonable measures to ensure the safety, well-being, and protection of others who may be affected by their actions or omissions. It is grounded in foreseeability of risk and the management controls used to mitigate measured potential impact.