According to Cornell’s Legal Information Institute, officially, duty of care is:
“The principle that directors and officers of a corporation in making all decisions in their capacities as corporate fiduciaries must act in the same manner as a reasonably prudent person in their position would…. Courts will not second guess the business judgment of corporate managers and will find the duty of care has been met so long as the fiduciary executed a reasonably informed, good faith, rational judgment without the presence of a conflict of interest.”
Let’s simplify.
Duty of care relates directly to employee safety and an employer’s liability if something should happen to that employee while on the job or at a work-related function. This includes everything from ensuring the safety of business travelers to providing safe accommodations for workers exposed to severe weather or, as we all recently experienced, switching to remote work during a global pandemic. Essentially, it means protecting your employees to the best of your ability.
As it relates to travel in our case, every organization has a duty of care to protect their employees when traveling and have a plan to do so. At PJS, we work directly with your organization on advanced planning and emergency movement analysis to make sure your company is duty of care prepared.
Here are the steps we take with you to guarantee that your plan is solid:
Where To Start
1. Risk Assessment –– Make a list of all situations that could arise. Once you assess the chance of risk to your organization or employees, you will be able to determine where you need support to lay out a plan of action. PJS works through this step with you by analyzing your organization and recommending a plan for all scenarios, including emergency airlift services and urgent on-demand movements in response to natural disasters, outbreaks or geopolitical threats.
2. Preparation and Prevention — You analyzed your risk and put a plan in place. But some things, like a global pandemic, are not easy to predict. To ensure that no threats sneak through, PJS keeps a watchful eye on several essential items so that we can be proactive and preventative rather than reactive. Our operations team works 24/7/365, following every flight from take-off to landing.
Their checklist includes:
- Knowing where your employees are at all times during business travel. That way, should an incident occur, the company can quickly move the employee out of any risky situation.
- Monitoring the weather for each employee’s respective business travel destination and having a plan should the weather take a turn for the worst. This is especially important during high-risk severe weather seasons.
- Closely evaluating the safety of employee travel methods. Whether traveling commercially or privately, by car or by plane, know how your chosen method of travel measures up to respective industry safety standards and regulations. PJS makes sure that any aircraft we use or provider that we work with meets these safety standards.
3. Communication — Once your duty of care initiatives and emergency preparedness plans are in place, communicate them to your employees. Whether led by HR or upper management, determine who communication should come from before, during and after an emergency. With the right processes in place, it’s possible to communicate effectively with employees about all kinds of emergencies, what role they should play and what role you as an employer play, thus protecting everyone involved.
Where To End
The pandemic awakened many organizations to the seriousness of duty of care in the workplace. We all learned that having a plan before it is needed is more important than ever.
Do not wait until the disaster occurs. To learn more about how to bring PJS on as an emergency preparedness partner, reach out here.
