Duty of care negligence
All companies have a legal and moral duty of care responsibility to their employees and neglecting your duty of care can land your company in hot waters.
According to the Brake Pro whitepaper on Duty of care, almost three in ten fleets fail to comply with fleet safety legal requirements. This is a clear indication that a number of companies are failing to fulfil their duty of care responsibilities, however, all companies have a legal duty of care towards all of their employees.
Companies that are not sure if they are fulfilling their duty of care should ask themselves these following questions:
- Does your company have in place safety policies (for companies with more than five employees) in writing supported by management?
- Are safety procedures in place, including risk assessments to eliminate or minimize risks?
- Does your company regularly audit the safety of journeys and amend policies and procedures accordingly when new risks are identified?
Companies should not answer “no” to any of the questions above, however, if a company has answered “no” then it is extremely important that the company take urgent steps to ensure that their duty of care responsibilities are met. Negligence of duty of care can lead to serious law suits on the company.
Taking steps to ensure you meet your duty of care obligations simply means taking steps to ensure that your employees are safe at their place of work at all times. It is particularly important for employers with travelling employees to have a duty of care plan in place because travelling corporate are prone to face unpredictable incidents. According to the International SOS whitepaper these incidents include:
- Heart attack on an international flight
- Lost during a terrorist act
- Caught in riots
- Fatal company event
- Car accidents
- Wrongful detention
- Swine flu or other disease outbreaks
At Zero Foundation we offer Duty of care services and we can help you to reduce any risks of putting your employees in harm’s way by neglecting your duty of care responsibilities. Fill in our form and request information on our Duty of Care services today!
