In 2015, the legal case Dennis v Norwegian Refugee Council sent shockwaves through the humanitarian and corporate sectors alike. A staff member injured during an assignment in Kenya successfully sued his employer for failing to provide adequate pre-deployment training and security support. The court’s ruling established a landmark precedent: organisations have a non-delegable Duty of Care toward their staff, regardless of the context or location.
This wasn’t just a legal wake-up call for organisations – it was a moral one.
Whether you’re sending employees to volatile regions or simply managing everyday operations, Duty of Care is not optional or vague. It’s a concrete responsibility that organisations must understand, plan for, and actively uphold. And failing to do so carries real consequences, for your people, your reputation, and your operations.
Assist360, a Chelsea Group company, provides a breakdown of Duty of Care considerations and steps you can take to ensure your staff, and your company, are protected.
Duty of Care is not all medevacs and helicopters, but having a strategy to get your people out of dangerous situations is critical.
What is Duty of Care?
Duty of Care is a legal and ethical obligation of employers to take all reasonable steps to ensure the health, safety, and wellbeing of their employees. It applies not only to those in high-risk environments but to anyone performing work on behalf of an organisation.
This obligation covers a wide range of concerns, including:
- Physical and mental health
- Security and safety in the field
- Access to emergency support
- Pre-deployment training and risk awareness
- Ongoing communication and tracking
- Post-incident follow-up and psychological support
© Anthony Jouannic. Duty of Care is critical in industries where employees operate in high-risk or remote environments.
The industries where Duty of Care matters most
While Duty of Care is essential across all sectors, it becomes especially critical in industries where employees operate in dynamic, high-risk, or remote environments. These include:
- Humanitarian and development organisations
Staff are often deployed to conflict zones, disaster areas, or regions with limited infrastructure, healthcare and security. - Energy, mining, and infrastructure companies
Field workers and technical teams regularly operate in physically demanding or geographically isolated conditions. - Travel, logistics, and security firms
Employees face continuous exposure to operational, environmental, and political risks. - Media and research organisations
Journalists and researchers may work in volatile situations.
In all these sectors, a solely reactive or superficial approach to Duty of Care can put lives and missions at risk.
Developing a Duty of Care strategy
Developing a robust Duty of Care strategy begins with recognising that this responsibility goes beyond checklists or compliance. It’s about embedding a culture of care throughout the organisation – one that is proactive, inclusive, and attuned to the realities your teams face. Rather than a static policy, a strong Duty of Care approach is multidisciplinary and flexible, shaped by the organisation’s structure, the composition of its workforce, and the environments in which it operates.
Understanding the risks related to certain projects is key to developing a comprehensive Duty of Care strategy. Crisis response centres, like Assist360’s, stay on top of local risks to help keep staff safe.
Step 1: Risk assessment
Duty of Care strategies begin with a comprehensive risk assessment. Organisations need to identify potential risks related to the location, nature of the work, and individual needs. These can include – but are not limited to – natural disasters, weather, conflicts, crime, health risks and infrastructure issues.
Step 2: Preventative measures
Once you’ve established what potential risks might be, the next step is to implement processes to mitigate that risk. Provide training – educating staff on relevant safety procedures, risk awareness, and emergency responses; ensure employees have the necessary vaccinations or medication to avoid illnesses common at their destination; and establish clear procedures and guidelines. This includes ensuring your staff are all covered by a comprehensive insurance policy.
Step 3: Contingency planning
Your Duty of Care strategy must include procedures for responding to emergencies if and when they happen. This includes the formation of a crisis management team and aligning with a global medical support provider like Assist360 to ensure employees have access to immediate medical assistance when traveling abroad. These services can include medical evacuations, telemedicine consultations, and emergency response coordination.
Step 4: Communication
Organisations should establish clear channels through which employees and individuals can access information, report concerns, or seek assistance. Regular updates on policy changes, risk assessments, and relevant safety information help keep everyone informed and prepared. Just as important is cultivating a culture of openness and trust, where individuals feel confident and supported in raising concerns without fear of judgment or reprisal.
Step 5: Monitoring and review
Ongoing monitoring and review are key to an effective Duty of Care strategy. This includes tracking incidents to identify any gaps, regularly reviewing policies and risk assessments to keep them current, and thoroughly documenting all actions, decisions, and responses to ensure accountability and continuous improvement.
Assist360’s Global Response Centre ensures your staff have access to real-time support anytime, anywhere.
Your partner in Duty of Care
An assistance partner provides the expertise, infrastructure, and global reach needed to respond effectively to health, safety, and security challenges – enabling you to effectively enact Duty of Care.
Assist360 offers a comprehensive, all-in-one Duty of Care solution that empowers organisations to protect their people with real-time risk intelligence, emergency response, and global medical support – anytime, anywhere.
Assist360’s comprehensive Duty of Care offer covers:
- Travel risk management: The service encompasses thorough pre-travel preparation, including risk assessments and traveller briefings, and extends to real-time support.
- 24/7 support: Emergencies don’t stick to office hours. Assist360’s Global Response Centre ensures your staff have access to real-time support anytime, anywhere.
- Medical expertise: Assist360’s medical professionals are available to provide immediate advice in critical medical situations.
- Local knowledge: Assist360’s deep local knowledge, operational capabilities and endorsed local networks enable quicker resolutions and cost containment.
- Journey management: Using tools like SafeTrip and SafeTrack, Assist360 in partnership with sister companies like SE24, provides journey management, continuous location monitoring, and targeted security alerts to ensure traveller safety. The platform also features a panic alarm function that grants immediate access to medical and security professionals.
- Medical evacuations: Medical evacuations are guided by expert assessments of the patient’s condition and location, ensuring the safest and most appropriate ground or air transport.
- Repatriation: Assist360 supports clients in returning to their home or place of residence during difficult travel situations, including the repatriation of mortal remains.
- Medical claims management: As a Delegated Claims Administrator (DCA) for Lloyd’s of London, Assist360 offers secure, transparent processing of medical claims. Key features include a secure platform for uploading and tracking claims, real-time access to data and reports, and standardised processes to prevent fraud.
A trusted assistance partner enhances your organisation’s ability to protect its people, fulfil Duty of Care responsibilities and operate with confidence – even in the most complex environments.
Contact Assist360 today about your Duty of Care needs https://assist360.org/contact/.
