Walking the line between an employer’s duty of care and employee privacy

Bob Fast is govt director of World Safe Accreditation

An organization’s obligation of care to its staff travelling on enterprise has at all times been paramount, however it may additionally elevate questions round privateness.

Firms should guarantee their workforce just isn’t uncovered to pointless danger throughout enterprise journeys – failure to so may lead to civil and even legal legal responsibility – however simply how far ought to employers go?

A part of an employer’s obligation of care means understanding the place to seek out an worker travelling on enterprise with a view to, for instance, notify them within the occasion of an emergency. However preserving tabs on a workforce, particularly a big cell one, has its challenges. That’s the reason some employers – usually these working in high-risk locations – have opted for screens to trace the situation and actions of staff the place deemed obligatory.

However with GDPR putting elevated significance on information safety, how can employers greatest serve their staff with out violating their particular person privateness? This query is especially complicated in ‘bleisure’ conditions the place strains between work and pleasure are blurred.

What to do as an employer
There are some things employers can do to make sure they ship on their obligation of care obligations.

Begin by assessing the proposed journey and decide that it’s secure, guaranteeing moderately foreseeable dangers are anticipated and motion taken to forestall them. For instance, in case your worker is travelling to a rustic wrestling with social or political upheaval, then sufficient measures have to be put in place to ensure all features of their keep – from journey to lodging – are secure.

Within the UK, the gov.uk web site offers up-to-date info and recommendation for travellers, together with whether or not journey is beneficial or not. Nonetheless, as these assessments are of nations as an entire and are primarily pushed by crime and terrorism threats, they don’t present an intensive analysis of a given vacation spot – extra detailed info is commonly wanted to make an evaluation. For instance, how secure are the choices for transport and lodging? Are these places extra in danger from pure disasters? What’s the infrastructure like?

A method corporates can higher exhibit their obligation of care is by enterprise danger assessments of the tactic of journey, route, vacation spot and lodging – and there are a number of third-party corporations that present this. This offers assurance to organisations and their travelling staff.  

Taking it to the following degree
Regardless of having the most effective laid plans, the surprising can nonetheless happen whereas the worker is overseas. That is the place distant monitoring can show invaluable. Within the UK, if employers go down this route, they need to take steps to make sure workers are absolutely conscious of monitoring, explaining what’s being monitored, how and why.

In a post-GDPR world, employers might want to emphasise the optimistic advantages of monitoring to staff and will want to supply staff the prospect to choose out throughout non-working hours. A number of corporations supply GPS monitoring by way of a cell phone or a panic button possibility for workers that encounter a troublesome state of affairs.  

Employers that want to monitor staff on this manner ought to search the consent of particular person members of workers and reassure them it’s for their very own profit. Employers shouldn’t use monitoring as a way to establish dissent – any sense of that motive will make staff really feel untrusted and resentful.  

Management ought to as an alternative develop and keep insurance policies, programs and preparations to tell, shield and help travelling staff, whereas repeatedly reporting on the effectiveness of journey, well being, security and safety insurance policies and procedures.

Up to now, assembly obligation of care necessities has proved troublesome resulting from a scarcity of clear requirements and steerage. Nonetheless, the new ISO 31030 global travel risk management standard offers a superb place to begin for employers that need to exhibit dedication to obligation of care.

Employers that may strike a stability between delivering reassurance and security with out invading a travelling worker’s private life shall be heading in the right direction.