duty of care and travel risk management: occupational health and safety

CHAPTER THREE

Occupational Health &

Safety

While there has never been any official exemptions for business travel, regarding what is now common workplace health and safety standards, it is only in recent times that businesses and managers have started to apply these same processes to include the mobile workplace and the act of travel. If a business can demonstrate the same occupational health and safety systems or resources as applied to conventional workspaces such as offices, that extends fully to business travel, then they have the basis of an ‘inclusive’ process that demonstrates duty of care towards their travelling employees. If not, they are exposed and non-compliant.

Duty of Care: A Buyer’s Guide to Travel Health, Safety and Security

The body of law concerned with the regulation of health and safety risks arising from work activities is now well developed

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“ ” -Michael Tooma [Lawyer] Safety, Security, Health

and Environment Law (3)

Due to the evolved nature of health and safety management within the workplace, there is sufficient reference and procedural norms to support business travel. These same systems, if applied to business travel, are sufficient for many businesses to effectively manage the risks of travel. Despite numerous claims to the contrary, few businesses can actually demonstrate this process and consistency when it comes to travel risk management.


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Instantaneous Travel: The process of making travel enquiries and booking confirma:on has accelerated significantly in modern :mes. The risk management process must keep pace with the process and provide the same level of health and safety support.

Greater clarity and extended definitions to the workplace have been introduced over the past few years, to include modern workplace environments and telecommuting habits of businesses and employees. Along with these refined understandings, travel and mobile workplaces have now been included as an obligation to employers to ensure they are managed and free from uncontrolled risks where possible. There is no separate laws or demands upon businesses and managers that relate to travel, merely a requirement to include this process along with all other business process, that require both evaluation and support resources.


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Workplace: “All places where workers need to be or to go by

reason of their work and which are under direct or indirect control of

the employer.” -‐ ILO Conven:on 155, Occupa:onal Safety and Health Conven:on, 1981, Ar:cle 3

In many instances, obligations or liability is being moved from just that of businesses or organizations, to that of managers and decision makers. In practical terms, this has meant that there is less-and-less latitude for managers or decision makers to hide behind “it is company policy” as they now have a shared obligation to ensure the health, safety, security and risk management of their travellers. Realistically, those responsible for travel and travel management have not been sufficiently educated or informed to effectively govern this process.


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What You Need to Know: There are two key considera:ons for preparing travellers when it comes to health and safety. What the law requires you to provide, and what the circumstances of the journey require the traveller receive.


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Workplace Health & Safety: Both environments need to be managed and are the responsibility of the employer to ensure so. The same due diligence, planning and resources provided in the office are also (task specific) required whilst travelling for work.

The emphasis of all health and safety legislation is proof and demonstration. Systems, resources, plans and processes must all be relevant, in place and implemented for both employees and external review/compliance in order to be compliant. There are clear and practical terms of reference around planning, audits, verification and due diligence. The same conditions apply to business travel risk management, for each journey, not just as a collective approach. The same degree of reporting, documentation and consideration must be evident in order for compliance and the concept of duty of care to apply.


The risk management plan must be audited annually and updated in response to the findings of the audit

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“ ” -Regulation 8.3.8 of the Model Work Health and Safety Regulations

[Australia]

Due to the evolved nature of health and safety management within the workplace, there is sufficient reference and procedural norms to support business travel. These same systems, if applied to business travel, are sufficient for many businesses to effectively manage the risks of travel. Travel health, safety, security and risk management should be a segment of your overall company’s risk management processes, not the dominant or stand alone solution.


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Governing Laws: Travel risk management requires knowledge of the specific laws, in each jurisdic:on, for each category of employee with evidence that the resul:ng strategy and systems comply with the guidelines and relevant laws.


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InducAons and Workplace EducaAon: The same principles and demands for educa:ng and preparing employees for business and the workplace apply to business travel, the business traveller the specific journey, des:na:on and ac:vity undertaken

Due to the overlapping considerations, professions and terms of reference when considering the complete travel health, safety, security and risk management spectrum, businesses and solutions therefore must identify, implement and maintain a number of accepted methodologies. This means, that for business travel, (significantly more acute due to the variances associated) the travel risk management solution must adopt processes from a number of source guidelines, laws and procedures. While these are viewed as ‘professional consensus’ rather than enforceable laws in most courts, they still form the evidence base for having acted in a professional and systematic manner. Self determined standards and ad-hoc approaches are more akin to an admission of guilt than practical compliance and risk management.


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“ The employer’s duty to ensure the health, safety and welfare of their

employees would extend to ensuring that employees are not

exposed to security risks” -‐ Inspector Nguyen v Western Sydney Area Health Service [2003] NSWIRComm 268 (Australia)

If you’re interested in understanding how to instantly evaluate, educate and monitor the risk for every single traveller and business trip as part of your travel health, safety, security and risk management

What begins as a workplace extension, ends in a business anywhere opportunity “

” -‐ Tony Ridley CEO Intelligent Travel