Quick answer
Reviewed · 4 min read
Duty of care in business travel is an employer’s responsibility to take reasonable steps to protect employees’ health, safety and security while they travel for work. In practice it means knowing where travelers are, briefing them before they go, and having a plan when something goes wrong. Booking through one agency like Empyrean puts every itinerary in one place, which makes all three easier.
Researched and maintained by Empyrean Travel · How we research
- Best for
- HR, operations and finance leads responsible for traveling staff
- What you get
- Centralized itineraries, pre-trip briefings and disruption help
- Support
- Help while traveling via the Virtuoso/Andavo support network
- Not included
- Medical, evacuation or security services; pair us with an insurer or assistance provider
What does duty of care mean for business travel?
Duty of care is the principle that an employer’s responsibility for employee safety doesn’t stop at the office door. When you send someone on a business trip, you’re expected to take reasonable, foreseeable steps to keep them safe, and the bar rises with the risk of the destination.
Exact legal obligations depend on jurisdiction and circumstances, so ask employment counsel what applies to you. Practically, most frameworks, including ISO 31030, the international guidance standard for travel risk management, come down to three habits: know, inform and support.
Who is responsible for duty of care in a company?
It usually sits with HR or operations, with finance involved because it touches insurance and policy. In smaller companies it often falls to the office manager by default, whether or not anyone said so.
Whoever owns it needs three things: a reliable list of who is traveling, a way to reach them, and an agreed plan for what happens next.
How does Empyrean support a duty of care program?
A travel advisor handles the booking side of duty of care, which is where most of the information lives.
- One source of truth. When trips are booked through Empyrean, flights and hotels for every traveler sit in one set of records, so you can answer “Who is in that city right now?” quickly.
- Pre-trip briefing. For international trips, we flag the destination’s State Department advisory level and entry requirements, and recommend enrolling in STEP.
- Sensible bookings. Realistic connection times, reputable hotels in sensible locations, and arrival times that avoid unnecessary late-night transfers.
- Help when plans break. Rebooking during disruptions, with help while traveling through the Virtuoso/Andavo support network.
- Contacts on file. Mobile numbers and emergency contacts kept with each traveler’s profile.
What does a basic duty of care plan include?
You don’t need an enterprise security program to cover the essentials. A small company can put these in place in an afternoon.
- A travel policy that requires booking through an approved channel
- Current traveler profiles with mobile numbers and emergency contacts
- A pre-trip check of advisories and entry requirements
- Travel insurance or an assistance provider for medical care and evacuation
- A named internal contact and a simple escalation plan
- A check-in message to travelers after any major incident near them
What part of duty of care can’t a travel agency cover?
A travel advisor is one part of duty of care, not all of it. Empyrean doesn’t provide medical care, security escorts or evacuation. Those come from travel insurance, corporate assistance programs or specialist security firms, and companies sending staff to higher-risk destinations should have them arranged before departure.
What we do is make sure the booking side supports that plan, and that the information your provider or HR team needs in a hurry is accurate and easy to find.
Where do duty of care programs usually fail?
The gaps are almost always in the ordinary details rather than the crisis plan itself.
- Trips booked outside the program, so nobody knows the traveler is away
- Outdated mobile numbers and emergency contacts
- No plan for travelers who extend trips for personal days
- Assuming a credit card’s travel coverage includes medical evacuation without checking
- Waiting for an incident to decide who is in charge
The three habits of duty of care
Know
Where people are
Every traveler’s flights and hotels in one set of booking records.
Inform
Before departure
Pre-trip notes on advisories, entry rules and local practicalities.
ExploreSupport
During the trip
Disruption help through the Virtuoso/Andavo network and a clear escalation plan for emergencies.
Frequently asked questions
Is duty of care a legal requirement for US employers?
How do we know where our travelers are in an emergency?
Should our employees enroll in STEP before international trips?
Does Empyrean provide 24/7 emergency assistance?
Does duty of care extend to personal days on a business trip?
Official sources
Rules, fees and schedules change — confirm the latest details at the source before you travel.