Travel risk management best practice

Introduction

It can be said with some confidence that the global pandemic severely restricted business travel during 2020 and into 2021. With restrictions worldwide continuing to ease, business travel levels are expected to return to previous levels or even increase further. This will inevitably create risks for workers travelling for business purposes.

As the Business Continuity Institute notes: “travel risk management is part of travel-related activities of an organisation” and that “organisations need to meet their Duty of Care responsibilities, comply with any relevant legal and ethical obligations related to travel (across multiple jurisdictions) and have a plan in place to care for their staff”.

Case law reflects how complex this duty of care can be. To assist, best practice can be adopted through the application of established and recently published national and international standards and guidance.

Duty of care

At common law, employers owe a personal duty of care to their employees to take reasonable care for their safety at work.

Guidance from the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health/International SOS Foundation notes that for employers: “this duty of care continues to exist when their employees are sent to work in other jurisdictions, either on a short-term basis or as part of a longer-term arrangement” and may also cover “a worker’s travel arrangements to or from work on a day-to-day basis while working abroad” as well as “the employee’s safety while in transit”.

Key aspects of this are that the duty of care is “non-delegable” and that employees are not subject to “unnecessary risk”. The standard of care expected of an employer is determined by the magnitude of the risk and requirements of reasonableness in terms of risk control.

These concepts have been tested over time by various cases brought by individuals against those who had a duty of care to them and cover areas such as premises, travel and work activities.

In the case of Palfrey v ARC Offshore Ltd the court found the employer in breach of their duty of care when an employee died from malaria whilst overseas. The employee had been advised by his employer that because he was to be based offshore he did not need medical protection for the trip. This was right, but it failed to take into account the risks posed during travel to and from the offshore location.

In the case Dusek and Ors v Stormharbour Securities LLP an employee was killed in a helicopter crash in the Peruvian Andes. The employer was found in breach of its duty of care with the judge stating that the employer should have “made at least some inquiry into the safety of the trip and carried out some form of risk assessment”.

In Durnford v Western Atlas International Inc, an employee brought a claim when he suffered a slipped disc due to an inadequate minibus that was supplied by his employer to transport him to the third party premises where he was working while abroad. The Court of Appeal found that the employer had caused the employee to travel in conditions that were so extreme that there was a foreseeable risk of any person of an ordinary level of physical robustness succumbing to an injury.

Other notable cases worth reviewing include:

• Cook v Square D Ltd in relation to the use of overseas premises

• Cassley v GMP Securities Europe LLP (and) Sundance Resources Ltd.

Standards

The key outcomes from the above cases, whether the claimant won or not, is that employers should be:

• taking steps to ensure policies in relation to travel risks are actually and effectively implemented

• that a risk-based approach (including risk assessing) should be used to meet the standard of care required.

Autumn 2021 saw the publication of ISO 31030: Travel Risk Management-Guidance for Organisations. In the UK this has been published as a British Standard.

Commenting on its release, the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) stated that it: “enables organizations to not only protect their workers when travelling in a comprehensive manner, but demonstrate that their decisions related to risk are based on solid and reliable information”.

ISO further stated that “travel risks vary and change enormously based on destinations, political or health situations, amongst other things, and there is no one set of rules that work for every destination or traveller profile”.

As such the standard provides a framework for travel risk management best practice. One of the aims of the new standard is to promote a culture where travel-related risk is taken seriously, resourced adequately and managed effectively.

In addition to the above, the British Standards Institution, in conjunction with International SOS, has published PAS 3001: 2016 Travelling for Work. Responsibilities for Health, Safety and Security Code of practice.

It gives recommendations on organisational responsibility in respect of the health, safety and security of individuals travelling for work noting that security alone is insufficient with employers needing to “engage further” to:

• prevent, respond to and mitigate incidents to reduce costly interruptions, improve morale and strengthen productivity

• protect the organisation’s corporate social responsibility agenda and reputation.

Similarly, in 2016, IOSH, in conjunction with International SOS, produced a guidance document, Managing the Safety, Health and Security of Mobile Workers: an Occupational Safety and Health Practitioner’s Guide.

This document’s introduction states that the aim of the guide is to enable an organisation to translate the duty of care “into policies, processes and actions that will protect your workforce and thereby not only support your business aims but also improve your organisation’s reputation and credibility”.

Best practice

The above publications all contain recommendations and guidance in relation to the development, implementation, evaluation and review of key areas including:

• policy

• threat and hazard identification

• risk assessment

• prevention and mitigation strategies

• incident management.

Just as important as the elements above is the management framework necessary for the application of these.

As with other management systems (such as for health and safety) there is a need to contextualise the organisation and also to ensure there is appropriate commitment and leadership from senior management.

Clearly, risk assessing is a core element of any framework. In terms of risk assessing, the IOSH publication offers good advice as to the factors that need to be considered but emphasises that “creating awareness of the risks is no longer sufficient. Active preventative measures that are documented and auditable should be put in place”.

Both the IOSH and PAS documents then also highlight the need to have in place crisis/emergency management procedures in the event of an unwanted event materialising whilst workers are overseas.

By following such documents the employer is likely to be doing all that is reasonably practicable in meeting their duty of care.

In support of these framework documents, various other best practice documents can be used to meet the above. The SOS Foundation has produced/collated a useful library of documents that can support the framework.

Some best practice is sector specific. For example, the Universities Safety and Health Association have produced guidance on health and safety in fieldwork supported by BS8848: Specification for the Provision of Visits, Fieldwork, Expeditions and Adventurous Activities outside the UK.

Summary

Foreign and international travel for work is increasing and continues to do so. Through the duty of care, employers have moral and legal responsibilities for employees that it requires to travel for work purposes.

Travel for work purposes can present significant risks ranging from health matters (including Covid-19), to safety associated with premises and travel as well as security matters such as personal safety.

Managing the risks associated with travel can be complex and challenging. As has been identified, unless reasonable action is taken to mitigate risks, employers can be held liable for any harm that may come to the employee.

The application of a robust management system framework, using best practice standards and guidance will assist the employer in meeting its duty of care.

Further information

British Standards Institution: www.bsigroup.com .

• BS ISO 31030: Travel Risk Management-Guidance for Organisations.

• PAS 3001:2016 Travelling for Work. Responsibilities of an Organisation for Health, Safety and Security. Code of Practice.

International SOS Foundation: www.internationsosfoundation.org.

• Sending Workers Abroad: A Perspective on the Employers Duty of Care in Health, Safety & Security Matters.

Institution of Occupational Health: www.iosh.co.uk .

• Managing the Safety, Health and Security of Mobile Workers: an Occupational Safety and Health Practitioner’s Guide.

Article reviewed 17/8/22