How to manage your employer’s duty of care in a rapidly changing global environment


There are growing threats to employees working abroad and travelling on business trips, from industrial espionage, terrorism and civil unrest. At the same time companies are trying to widen the scope of people they send on assignments in order to fulfil their DE&I objectives. How should an employer discharge their duty of care without trampling across the private life and personal freedom of their employees? Marianne Curphey talks to Richard Harris-Deans, partner and director of advisory at CHC Global, an expert on travel risk management and employer’s duty of care.


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usiness travel is starting to rebound after Covid, and companies are now sending staff on


assignment to emerging and frontier markets in the search of new global opportunities. While oil and gas companies have long been at the forefront of managing staff in hardship locations, organisations with less “frontier experience” are beginning to consider sending assignees to what might previously have been considered challenging or “hardship” locations. For example, parts of West


Africa, the Gulf of Guinea and Nigeria are a growth market for many sectors, but there is a growing


threat of kidnap and ransom, as well as an increase in terrorism in those regions. Even in relatively ‘safe’ locations in Europe, travellers face the threat of low level and opportunistic crime. Then there


is the issue of


keeping employees safe without requiring them to disclose private or personal information which might be compromise their security. With more globally mobile employees, there is a growing awareness that what might not be an ED&I issue for a member of staff in one part of the world might be a serious consideration for someone working in a very different culture or location.


Different employees also have


backgrounds which may place them at more or at less risk in certain jurisdictions or geographies. Employers have a duty of care to all employees, and this includes considering assignments or work placements where their gender, sexuality, race, or opinions might put them in danger. Broaching the subject of personal safety, gender, political opinions, race or sexual preference with an employee can, however, be very difficult to navigate. Employers need to strike the right balance between respecting employees’ privacy and ensuring that they carry out the proper duty of care.


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THINK GLOBAL PEOPLE HOT TOPIC : BUSINE SS TRAVEL RISK


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