Business globalisation is forcing companies to address duty of care assessment for employees as travel managers wake up to the new Corporate Manslaughter Act (CMA).

Speaking to ABTN at this year’s ITM Conference in Dublin, travel risk management company International SOS corporate security director Mike Penrose, outlined the new responsibilities from businesses and employees. He was at pains to point out however, that a commercial balance needed to be struck between care and business reality.

“The more globalisation impacts, the more people need us,” he said. “This [CMA] re-focuses everyone on duty of care, but if you blindly put things in, you will hinder creativity.

“It’s about pulling away from institutional finger-pointing and risk-assessing every element of your business. Some 59% of all business travellers do not think their company will assist them if they are in trouble.”

Such thinking, Penrose insisted, has to change and the new Act facilitates a far more robust approach to risk assessment, as the world becomes less predictable.

Research is essential to quantify risk and the corporate security director highlighted one example in Chad where it took fighting to erupt for a third time before one company finally decided to put evacuation plans into place. “The law now brings that into focus,” he said.

And it’s not just far-flung destinations that can experience security problems - the Madrid and London bombings of 2004 and 2005 brought the issue sharply closer to home, with Penrose highlighting how, extraordinarily, it took one company two weeks to locate all its employees in the UK capital.

PricewaterhouseCoopers head of UK security Richard Stanley, insisted that it was the procedures behind the policy that counted for his organisation. “We have to protect the reputation of the firm,” he said.

“I would argue that the procedures that implement the policy are more important - security and travel working closely together are absolutely key.”

And just to illustrate the absolute random diversity of risk, Penrose highlighted the greatest danger of all, ahead even of natural disasters. “Mosquitoes have killed more people than all wars in history,” he said.

Simon Warburton
ITM - Dublin