Why is duty of care is garnering so much attention?

Why is duty of care is garnering so much attention with both corporate travel managers and travel management companies?

Duty of care is acquiring so much more attention from today’s travel professionals for three main reasons:

• Legislation and Liability – In many countries around the world, governments continue to introduce new legislation surrounding an employer’s increased responsibility and liability surrounding duty of care. For example, in Canada under Bill C-45 and in the UK under the UK Act, corporations can be held criminally liable as well as be subject to a civil suit. The penalties are stiff and include life imprisonment for individuals and unlimited fines for corporations. It is essential for businesses to stay up to date on the changing legislative landscape.
• Frequency and Variety of Threats – Unfortunately, the frequency of incidents around the world continues to reach alarming levels. Last year alone, we issued over 23,000 alerts that impacted many travelers‘ journeys. This represents an average of 63 incidents per day, every day of the year. In addition, the type of threats faced by travelers continues to grow. In years past, we were most concerned about medical mishaps while traveling; now we see terrorism, natural disasters, pandemics, violent crime, political unrest and a myriad of other perils.
• Proximity – The third factor is proximity. For many years, our company was focused on assisting travelers in high-risk places such as Iraq, Afghanistan and several other African countries. Last year alone, we deployed resources to assist travelers in over 115 countries including France, UK, Belgium, Brazil, Mexico and the US. As these events hit close to home, the chances of travelers being affected only increases.