Travel business models Travel technology glossary

Duty of careDuty of care in business travel

Also called travel risk managementTRMtraveller safetyemployer duty of care

Definition

Duty of care in business travel is an employer's responsibility to protect the health, safety and security of employees travelling for work. It is met through travel risk management: assessing destination risks, setting rules and approvals, knowing where travellers are, and supporting them in emergencies. The legal basis and extent vary by country.

What Duty of care means

Employees on business trips are still at work, so the employer's general health and safety obligations follow them. The exact legal duty depends on the jurisdiction. In Great Britain, the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 requires employers to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of their employees. The EU's occupational safety Framework Directive 89/391/EEC requires employers to ensure workers' safety and health in every aspect related to work. In the United States, the OSH Act general duty clause requires a workplace free from recognised serious hazards. Other countries, including in the Gulf, apply their own labour and safety laws.

Beyond the legal minimum, many organisations treat traveller safety as a moral and reputational issue. The practical discipline is called travel risk management. ISO 31030:2021, published in September 2021, gives organisations of any size guidance on building a travel risk management policy and programme, assessing travel risks and treating them. It is a guidance standard based on ISO 31000, and it does not cover leisure travel.

Booking data is central. When trips go through a TMC or online booking tool, the organisation can see who is where, send alerts, and reach travellers quickly when a crisis or disruption hits. A corporate travel policy usually sets the rules that make this possible.

How Duty of care works

Duty of care is usually delivered through a travel risk management programme that runs before, during and after each trip.

  1. Set policy and responsibilitiesThe organisation decides who owns travel risk, which destinations need extra approval and what travellers must do.
  2. Assess risk before travelEach trip is checked against destination, health, security and the individual traveller's circumstances, with mitigation agreed where needed.
  3. Capture trip dataBookings made through approved channels feed itineraries into a tracking or risk platform.
  4. Inform and trainTravellers receive pre-trip briefings, emergency contacts and, for higher-risk trips, specific training.
  5. Monitor and respondDuring the trip, alerts are monitored and the organisation can locate, contact and assist travellers, including evacuation if needed.
  6. ReviewIncidents and near misses are reviewed and the programme is updated.

Duty of care in practice

Illustrative example: a Singapore engineering firm sends three staff to a project site abroad. Its travel policy requires a risk assessment for that destination, so the security team approves the trip with conditions: airport transfers by vetted drivers, a hotel from an approved list and daily check-ins. The TMC books flights and hotel, and the itinerary flows into the firm's tracking tool.

Two days into the trip, flights at the destination airport are suspended. The tracking tool shows exactly which employees are affected. The TMC's 24-hour team rebooks them on the first available alternative routing, and their manager is kept informed throughout. Because the trips were booked through approved channels, nobody had to be located by phone or email chains. Details are invented for illustration.

Who uses it

Employers and HR teamsAssess and manage risks to staff travelling for work and show how legal health and safety duties are met.
Travel management companiesProvide traveller tracking, alerts and 24-hour support as part of their corporate service.
Security and risk managersUse ISO 31030 guidance to structure a travel risk management programme.
Booking tool and travel technology providersFeed itinerary data to risk platforms and flag trips to higher-risk destinations for approval.

Advantages and limitations

Advantages

  • Reduces the chance of harm to travellers and helps the organisation react quickly when incidents happen.
  • Gives the organisation evidence of how it meets health and safety obligations.
  • Builds trust with employees who are asked to travel.
  • Centralised booking data makes it possible to find affected travellers within minutes.

Limitations

  • Legal requirements differ by country, so multinational employers must manage several regimes at once.
  • Trips booked outside approved channels leave gaps in traveller location data.
  • Tracking travellers raises privacy and data protection questions that must be handled carefully.
  • Risk assessments and support services add cost and administration, especially for small organisations.

Frequently asked questions about Duty of care

Is duty of care a legal requirement for business travel?

In many countries, yes, through general health and safety law rather than travel-specific rules. Great Britain, EU member states and the United States all place general safety duties on employers that extend to work travel. What counts as reasonable varies, so organisations should take local legal advice.

What is ISO 31030?

ISO 31030:2021 is an international standard that gives organisations guidance on managing travel risks. Published in September 2021, it covers travel risk policy, programme development, threat identification, risk assessment and mitigation. It applies to organisations of any size and sector but excludes leisure travel unless someone travels on the organisation's behalf.

Does duty of care cover business travellers who extend a trip for leisure?

It depends on the jurisdiction and the employer's policy. Many organisations state in their travel policy how they handle bleisure days, for example by continuing tracking and assistance while making clear which costs and insurance cover apply. Clear written rules reduce confusion if something happens during the leisure part.

How do travel agencies support duty of care?

Agencies hold the booking records that show where travellers are and when. They can send itinerary data to risk platforms, issue alerts, provide 24-hour assistance and rebook travellers during disruption. Agencies serving corporate clients often offer these services as part of their contract.

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Sources and further reading

  1. ISO — ISO 31030:2021 Travel risk management: guidance for organizations
  2. ISO TC 262 — ISO 31030:2021 Managing travel risks: guidance for organizations
  3. legislation.gov.uk — Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, section 2
  4. EU-OSHA — Directive 89/391/EEC, the OSH Framework Directive
  5. OSHA — OSH Act of 1970, Section 5: duties