travel program duty of care

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Corporate travel safety 2024

Duty of care for business travel, what is duty of care.

• Health and safety,
• Food and drinks provided by the organization,
• Fire safety,
• Discrimination and bullying,
• And many more.

Business travel and duty of care

• Missing a flight
• Misplacing a passport or another important document
• Becoming ill while abroad
• Accidents requiring medical attention

Why is duty of care important?

Legal obligations, strategic planning and practical prevention.

Start writing your own corporate travel policy with our comprehensive template

Duty of care vs travel risk management, how to write a duty of care policy for travel, 1. assess your current travel program.

• Involve relevant stakeholders and discuss areas for improvement. Travelers offer first-hand experience in dealing with high-risk situations, and travel managers will lend insight into the logistics involved.
• Discuss what’s gone wrong in the past, research global risk trends, and agree on up-to-date security policies to follow.
• Share the burden with a travel management company . TMC expertise will help you to meet your duty of care requirements by providing advice and tools for travel safety.
• B2B travel companies are ideal as they understand corporate needs, provide live data and security reports, recommend strategic improvements to duty of care policies, and offer 24/7 support. This is vital as travelers need to be able to contact a reliable entity at any time for assistance of any magnitude.

2. Establish a pre-travel process

• Compile pre-trip risk assessment reports that detail globally consolidated data, particularly when traveling to high-risk destinations.
• Automate travel alerts and incorporate them into the travel itinerary. Your TMCwill likely provide live updates to travelers to inform them of potential risk developments.
• Ensure employee contact information and health records are easily available and current.

3. Domestic vs international travel

• Plan for domestic risk factors as well as those overseas. An accident can befall your employee while commuting to a meeting across town, so be sure you’re making safety provisions for your people at home as well as the jet-setters.

4. Have a plan B and C

• Incorporate contingencies into your employee travel policy , as well as into the plan for specific trips. Employees should know that there is a backup plan for emergencies that is reliable and up to date. Feel free to refer to our sample company travel policy for employees to find out what your policy should contain.
• Most importantly, this plan should contain information on where the nearest embassy or evacuation point is for foreign nationals.

Duty of care tips and tools

• Employee engagement : Besides helping to customize security measures, employees will appreciate being involved in the decision-making process. They’ll gladly comply because, at the end of the day, it’s their safety you’re talking about.
• Technology for security : Automated services provided by TMCs and travel management software have real-time tracking features to pin-point a traveler’s location for extraction if needed.
• Gadgets and equipment: If traveling to a high-risk area for pick-pocketing, for example, you may recommend to the traveler to use a money belt and book a hotel with a safe in the room to leave their valuables.

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Travel and Expense

6 questions to ask when incorporating duty of care into your travel program.

Over the past few years, employee wellness has taken center stage. Leaders are increasingly expected to weave wellness into the fabric of their companies, which means creating a culture of care is no longer a nice-to-have, it’s a must-have. And that’s exactly why duty of care — an organization’s legal obligation to protect employees from harm — matters.

When business leaders create a safe environment for their employees, it establishes employee trust and loyalty. Beyond that, predicting risk, taking preventative measures, and responding quickly to crises help maintain business continuity. The bottom line? Businesses are beginning to view duty of care as a strategic tool to protect their workers while strengthening and sustaining their organization. One that:

• Elevates inclusivity and ensures the safety of ALL employees.
• Includes mental health and well-being.
• Increases visibility into travel data — no matter how it is booked.
• Drives compliance with customized settings on company policies.

So, when the time comes to update your own duty of care program, be sure to arm your fellow team with this helpful list of discovery questions:

1. How did they book that?

The more employees use the booking tools you provide, the easier it is for you to ensure their safety. Offering employees booking tools will automatically make their travel data visible. However, some organizations say they still do not manage data for travel risk management.

Since many employees still have their preferred ways to book and plan itineraries, comparing the level of adoption of tools like Concur TripLink and My Travel Network (MTN) cross-referenced with travel-related expenses will help give you a clear idea of who is booking inside and outside of the system, and still allow you to track all bookings – regardless of where they occur.

Course correction towards increased adoption of your preferred booking tools is achievable.  Something small like reviewing your new employee onboarding process can have a big impact over time. Do you require that they set up a profile and opt into the tools you offer, like My Travel Network? Based upon your annual onboarding volumes, a slight change with new employees could lead to significant improvement of visibility in the future.

2. Where did they buy that?

When an employee makes a purchase on a corporate card rather than cash, you can leverage this information to know where they are. In the absence of more current information, card data can provide a traveler’s last known location. Additionally, traveling with substantial amounts of cash can make any traveler a target for criminals. Corporate card usage can serve as a significant line of defense in a duty of care program. While corporate card usage is a valuable spend management tool, you can also evaluate the risk threshold of your duty of care program by reviewing the level of corporate card adoption. By encouraging your employees to use their corporate cards, you add another layer of protection from crisis.

3. When did they book that?

The earlier the booking, the more time you will have to ensure the proper precautions are taken. Most executive stakeholders consider traveler safety reports extremely or especially important, so having these measures in place is crucial. Even though we live in a completely connected society, advances in technology haven’t really helped us become better planners when it comes to business travel. Review your travel request policy to see if you can balance the planning-to- booking window that prioritizes employee safety.

4. Who did they ride with?

If you could save your organization money and help your team travel more safely, would you? Of course you would. Our quick fix : increasing rideshare over other ground transportation options. Travel by car is still one of the primary modes of business travel. Rideshare apps allow travelers to share their route information with others, so others can track their ETA. This empowers travelers to take ownership of their own safety. Electronic payment within rideshare apps also reduces the need to carry cash and can automatically route data for expense report completion.

5. How safe is it?

A study from the Travel Guard said that 84% of people claimed they weren’t aware of any tools that would give them safety tips, or that their employers didn’t provide that kind of safety tip or resource. Reviewing the risk levels of a destination using tools such as Concur TripLink , the U.S. Department of State portal , or TripIt neighborhood safety scores before approval, booking, departure, and during travel, prioritizes employee safety and can be a simple check. Determining the right level of safety for your organization and reflecting this in your travel policy will help maintain a level of risk that everyone is comfortable with. Considering the request process and incident response procedures, especially in destinations that score high on risk, are valuable steps in your policy review process.

6. How can you improve?

Actively monitoring where employees are located around the world and having a way to communicate with and assist them during a crisis is no small feat. Encouraging employees to book their trip in advance, using the tools and corporate cards that you provide, will allow your organization to offer a duty of care program that is relevant and effective.

Here are some of our best practices to get started:

• Establish a task force that includes HR, travel managers, finance, and security
• Regularly review your travel and expense data for trends
• Maintain up-to-date employee information
• Provide timely travel advisories (pre-trip and ongoing)
• Ensure the ability to identify employee location through a system of data and communication points

Smart companies are realizing that adjusting their policies and being willing to spend a few extra dollars on T&E (travel & expense) can have an immeasurable positive impact on employee safety, satisfaction, and wellness.

More Duty of Care Resources

Take our Travel Risk Quiz to see how well your organization is managing employee risk.

Listen to our podcast with Deloitte to learn how protecting your travelers protects your bottom line.

Read our eBook: Taking Charge of Duty of Care? Why HR Should Take the Lead.

Enable travel managers to spot invisible spend, capture travel data, and ensure traveler safety – download our infographic .

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Experience moments that matter

With american express global business travel, at gbta 2019.

• August 5-7, 2019
• Chicago, Illinois
• McCormick Place Convention Center

Duty of Care: Strategies to Protect Your Travelers Being prepared for unpredictable situations is key to making your travel program support duty of care in your organization. The current state of uncertainty in the industry highlights the importance of risk management in caring for your team when they travel for work. There is no better time like the present to review your duty of care strategy.

Download the e-book to learn more.

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Business Travel Made Simple

We make business travel easy

• for you and for travellers.

See how easy business travel can be:

With Business Travel Made Simple, we make business travel easy. For you and for your travellers.

We understand that business travel isn’t always easy. After speaking to businesses like yours, we created a unified end-to-end travel and expense solution, designed on a single platform to minimise your costs and help you manage of your business travel programme.

MAXIMISE YOUR SAVINGS

Spot cost saving opportunities quickly. Our unified platform offers accurate forecasting and visibility of spend BEFORE and AFTER travel. It helps you see what your travellers are spending, meaning you can make informed decisions to set spending limits and optimise your business travel policy.

MAKING COMPLIANCE EASY

Eliminate travel and expense separation. We provide one place where all business travel and related expenses can be easily managed. Door-to-door booking via our online booking tool means you have sight of total trip activity and a smart graphical timeline to help you keep track of compliance and spending.

EXCEPTIONAL CUSTOMER SERVICE

Put your travellers at the heart of the business travel experience with intelligent caller ID and designated support at their fingertips or just a phone call away 24/7. Proactive disruption management also anticipates your travellers’ needs and gets them where they need to be with minimal fuss.

DUTY OF CARE

Tools configured to your policy help locate your travellers, to identify where they are in case of disruption in their journey. Plus, we offer support with destination-specific advice, especially in emerging regions where your travellers may need extra guidance.

INSIGHTS AND REPORTING

See a clearer picture. And act decisively.

Knowledge is power. And our analytics and reporting products deliver through robust data, insights, and benchmarking so you can clearly understand your entire travel program— including your carbon footprint.

A tool built for you and your team:

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HOTEL MONITOR

Did you know Europe is experiencing a hotel development boom?

Our latest Hotel Monitor report examines how the region is responding to traveller demands despite an uncertain global economic outlook.

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Do your travellers demand a consumer experience when using your OBT?

They aren’t alone. In this whitepaper we’ve partnered with ACTE to explore the issues, concerns, and objectives around online booking.

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Corporate Travel Risk Management Program & Duty Of Care

Travel risk management

Put your business travelers first with a robust strategy to help you mitigate and manage risk.

Put duty of care front and centre

Business travel can be unpredictable. The wellbeing and security of your people shouldn’t be.

If a natural disaster happens or travel security issues arise, knowing about the problem and getting in touch with your travelers is paramount.

Duty of care falls on travel managers’ shoulders. With the right travel risk management program in place, you can ensure that the welfare of your employees — from the time they book a trip until they return home — is a significant part of your travel policy. Let us help you protect your business’ biggest investment and most valuable asset.

We can help you to make sure your travelers don’t feel vulnerable and make managing risk simple with our effective travel risk management solutions.

Why you should do a travel risk assessment

Build a travel program that works for you

COVID-19 has impacted businesses and travelers across the globe. Because of this, now could be the time to optimize your travel management program. One way to do this is to examine your options when it comes to negotiating with suppliers.

Travel risk management solutions

Know where your business travelers are.

Wherever your travelers may be, our Traveler Tracker lets you monitor specific regions across the globe. In no time, you can generate a report on travelers’ booking details and get up-to-date information on flight updates or new trip bookings.

Take a proactive approach to travel risk management with Traveler Tracker

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Duty of care: An integral part of your corporate travel program

Some years ago, a volunteer working for an NGO in Papua New Guinea contracted cerebral malaria and died [1] . When a lawsuit was brought against the NGO, the jury found the organisation guilty of failing to protect its volunteers in not one, but four ways—they failed to inform volunteers of the malarial risk, did not train them to recognise symptoms of prevalent local diseases, didn’t provide them with anti-malarial drugs, and didn’t provide a support helpline for volunteers to use in case of emergencies.

What is duty of care?

Duty of care is the legal responsibility of an organisation to look after its employees while they are away from office on business. It means doing everything in your power to mitigate risks and ensure the safety, comfort, and well-being of your employees. It is applicable when your employees are on business trips (domestic or international), working remotely, or any other similar scenario.

Why should you focus on duty of care?

Duty of care is an essential part of a corporate travel program. As an employer, your obligations extend to your employees, remote workers, board members, consultants, and contractors.

It is an employee’s legal right to be cared for when they are away on business, and if an employer fails in its obligation to do so, and the employee suffers harm due to lack of care, they have every right to sue the company for negligence.

Many countries are passing laws that impose criminal liability on firms in case of any duty of care breach. For example, in the U.K., under the Corporate Manslaughter Act, a firm and its senior officials can be civilly or criminally charged for gross breach of duty of care.

However, you can avoid breaches and their legal ramifications by establishing a well-defined duty of care program. Obviously, you want to prevent harm to your employees. But if something does happen despite your best efforts, you still need to be able to show that you took all the right precautions. In one example, two employees of an oil and gas firm were killed in Venezuela. When a lawsuit was filed against the firm, it was dismissed by the jury because the firm had done everything proper to prevent such a tragedy—in other words, it fulfilled its duty of care obligations to a T.

Setting aside the legal and moral obligations, duty of care is good for your business in other ways too. Simplifying corporate travel increases your employees’ productivity and makes it easier for them to get their work done, and taking good care of your employees is a time-tested way of retaining them. Taking steps to prevent accidents also keeps your plans moving smoothly. Suppose you are expanding your business into a developing country, and your only employee at a remote work location is taken ill during a sudden disease outbreak without any access to assistance from you. Your employee’s faith in your company is shaken, the work at that site is on hold, and your expansion plan is derailed. A few incidents like this can do some major damage to your company’s plans, finances, and reputation.

What are the risks that business travellers face?

To develop a comprehensive corporate duty of care program, you will need to understand the kinds of risks your employees might face while they are out on business trips, such as:

Health risks:  These range from global pandemics like COVID-19 to individual travel-related sicknesses like jet lag, sleep disorders, food poisoning, and the common flu. The level of severity can vary widely depending on the individual traveller’s circumstances.

Political risks: Civil unrest including terrorist attacks, riots, and political conflicts pose extreme security threats to any travellers who are caught up in them.

Cultural risks: Standing out from the local population is a risk by itself. Travel often means that your employees find themselves in unfamiliar environments or amidst unfamiliar customs. Language barriers can complicate everything from daily navigation to emergency responses.

Natural disasters:  Depending on location, business travellers can find themselves in the midst of blizzards, hailstorms, earthquakes, tornadoes, or other disasters requiring immediate shelter or evacuation.

Accidents:  Airline emergencies (such as air collisions and emergency landings) and road traffic accidents are the two most common risks in this category.

Theft and harassment: This is often all about profiling. Business travellers who are dressed immaculately and carrying high-end mobile devices are going to stand out from the crowd, making them a target for pickpocketing, abuse, and threats. Female travellers face even greater risks while they are on the road, including sexual harassment, assault, theft, and kidnapping.

Being prepared to respond to any possible incident at any time is essential to protect your employees and your company’s reputation. That is why companies need a solid duty of care plan to prepare for these types of risks.

Tips to implement a successful duty of care program

We have put together some helpful tips to help you initiate and develop a solid duty of care program. The tips have been split into pre-trip, during trip, and post-trip for your convenience.

Risk assessment: The first step involves analysing the level of risk involved in every step of the trip. Take into account everything about the location before booking travel and accommodation: road safety, the climate and any adverse weather conditions, the presence of diseases like malaria or respiratory viruses, and political and civil conditions. It’s good to assess your likely business destinations periodically and rate them as low, medium, or high risk. This practice helps you maintain realistic internal travel policies, such as restrictions on travel to highly risky countries.

Know your traveller:  The more you know about your traveller, the better you can protect them from conditions that might be harmful. If employment laws in your area allow you to collect information about employees’ physical and mental health, use that information to prepare for any special risks that individual travellers may be facing.

Educate your employees:  Ensure that your employees are well-informed about your company’s travel policies. Share helpful tips and tricks about travelling safely, and educate them about the location they are travelling to. Before your employees leave, make sure they have the emergency contact numbers of your travel insurance provider and your travel team.

Prep your team: Create and distribute a travel policy that provides guidance to your employees who are handling travel administration. Make sure your team keeps an eye on the company’s bookings to weed out any high-risk or out-of-policy travel plans. Before a traveller sets out, ensure you have contact information for their next of kin and any clients or business partners they will be meeting during their trip. Finally, set up travel alerts to keep your travellers and travel team informed of any potential disruption.

During travel

The main task at hand is to know where your travelling employees are at all times. It’s a good idea to implement a traveller tracking application in partnership with a TMC or a third-party duty of care service provider. These applications will tell you which travellers are at risk, track your employees in real time, communicate with them about active alerts, and identify future bookings that might be affected. Whether you’re using a third-party provider or handling duty of care yourself, always give your travellers 24/7 support in case of emergencies or itinerary changes.

Post-travel

It’s a good practice to survey your travellers once they are back in the office and collect feedback so you can make improvements. You may also want to provide post-trip health checkups. For example, in most organisations, employees who returned from business trips during the spread of COVID-19 were given post-travel checkups to curb any travel-related virus transmission.

Here’s your takeaway!

Some companies are already taking their duty of care seriously, while for others it may appear too daunting to attempt. For the latter, it’s high time to make sure you’ve got this covered. If you need some motivation to get started, remember the big picture: duty of care means taking care of your employees and indirectly boosting their productivity, while saving your business from failed plans and unnecessary lawsuits. Work with your in-house travel team or TMC to put together a comprehensive duty of care program that combines best practices with advanced technology to give you and your travellers the safety you all deserve.

Visit our COVID-19 Resource Center for more guides, webinars, and other resources to help your teams navigate the challenges ahead.

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• Business travel in the time of COVID-19: All you need to know
• Corporate prepaid cards: Managing travel expenses just got easier!
• How artificial intelligence will change the way you manage business travel
• How to create a business travel policy for the COVID-19 era
• The new normal: a glimpse into the future of business travel after COVID-19

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Safer travel starts here

To keep your travelers safe, they need support and assistance - anytime, anywhere. This not only ensures that they are safe, but also that they feel safe. The safer your employees feel on their travels the more relaxed and productive they’ll be, improving staff retention and streamlining the travel experience.

The best way to ensure your traveler’s safety? Preparation. Put a plan in place to reassure your travelers and give them a game plan for every situation. With the right prep, you’ll know exactly where all your travelers are and how to reach them at any point of their journey. 

Your travelers need to know what’s what.

The best way to prepare for any travel hitch is to brief your staff on safety procedures before, during and after travel. 

While they pack their bags

• Cover the basics: Give your travelers a rundown of your travel policy , your health and safety policy, and the risk assessment for their trip.
• Trip specific details: Make sure they know about any health and fitness aspects of their travels, as well as visa and vaccination advice.
• Update contacts: Give them emergency contact numbers for you and your travel insurance provider. Ensure their traveler profiles are up-to-date, including their next-of-kin information.
• Standard procedures: Let them know any standard procedures they’ll need to follow, like sending a text or email when they arrive at their destination.

On the road

• 24/7 support: If things don’t go to plan, your travelers need to know where to turn. Give them a way to access support when and where they need it.
• Traveler tracking: Provide traveler tracking technology to pinpoint any travelers at risk.
• Updates and alerts: Implement crisis response plans to contact, locate, and inform your traveler in an emergency.

Safe at home

• Follow up: It’s a good idea to survey your travelers after their journey. Make sure they understood the safety procedures and ask for feedback.

A good travel management company (TMC) makes duty of care simple. With our decades of experience, we’ll help you analyse risk and develop a plan for your travelers - before, during and after travel.

While you pack your bags

• Control bookings: Identify high risk or out-of-policy bookings.
• Set up travel alerts: Keep you and your travelers informed of potential disruptions
• Maintain traveler profiles: Always have the information you need at hand, including the most up-to-date emergency contact information for your travelers.
• 24/7 support: Give travelers support throughout emergencies. Melon provides 24/7 access to travel experts, anywhere, on any device.
• Traveler tracking technology: Melon’s traveler tracking technology means you always know where your travelers are.
• Updates and alerts: If something does go wrong, Melon can inform your travelers immediately. Get automatic updates and alerts on delays, cancellations, and travel disturbances.

Regular reporting: Spot out-of-policy bookings and risky destinations so you can tighten up your travel policy compliance .

There are three things to remember when you’re dealing with traveler safety:

• Train your staff
• Communicate updates to your staff and key stakeholders.

After a full year of lockdowns and restrictions you might be asking - what will our future travel budget even look like? Businesses left and right have been re-forecasting budgets after each major announcement regarding COVID-19. Add reduced resources and increased traveler safety needs to the mix and you’ve got an overwhelming amount of pressure to get the budget right.

Does your duty of care policy need an upgrade?

Chat with our experts about keeping your travelers safe.

Understanding Travel Risk Management (TRM)

Defining travel risk management (trm), where responsibility for risk is less clear, business drivers.

• TRM solutions and comprehensive programs
• TRM program roles, tasks and processes
• Common mistakes and problems
• TRM tools and solutions
• The future of TRM

About Safeture The Safeture platform is a complete and cloud-based service managing risk, safety and crisis processes involving employees. The solution takes care of all risk and crisis management needs, finding new ways to safeguard employees wherever they are and secure your company. More information on Safeture and the BCD marketplace Travel Risk Management .

ISO standard 31030 defines travel risk management as “ the effects of uncertainty on objectives due to travel .”

Quite simply, what this really adds up to is making work-related travel safe(r) for employees and other people traveling on a company’s behalf. The standard further describes TRM as “coordinated activities to direct and control an organization with regard to travel risk.”*

So, TRM is not just the “why,” it’s also the “how.” You can find out more about ISO 31030 in this short video from BCD Travel’s Global Crisis Management team .

* ISO 31030:2021 Travel risk management – Guidance for organizations

Getting started

For travel managers new to TRM, using an external TRM supplier may be a good starting point. TRM programs can range from simple to highly complex, and ISO 31030 may be an unsuitable guide for those completely new to TRM. 

Even before bringing in a third-party, seeking advice from a travel management company (TMC) can also be a useful starting point. Available through Advito, BCD Travel’s Traveler Security Program Assessment (TSPA) can help ensure TRM alignment to ISO 31030

Why travel risk management?

There are three main factors necessitating a TRM program:

• Duty of care – in most countries, employers have a legal responsibility to care for staff when working, and this includes work-related travel. The responsibility is less clear for non-employees traveling on the company’s behalf, but it seems sensible to include them within the wider scope of duty of care. As this is a legal responsibility, employers may be liable for damages (and in some jurisdictions, senior executives may be liable to criminal charges) if an employee is injured or killed on a trip. A properly delivered TRM program may provide some legal defense. And it’s worth remembering that workplace laws apply wherever an employee is active on behalf of an employer, and that includes when traveling for business.
• Moral and ethical duty – employers have a duty to keep employees safe whentraveling on business and support them should something happen on a trip.
• Reputation – being seen as a caring employer will help companies retain staff and attract new employees

Why BCD should be a vital part of your travel risk management strategy

Around the clock monitoring.

Our Global Crisis Management team monitors events 24/7/365 to identify incidents that may impact business travelers.

Once identified, our team conducts an assessment and action plan for each incident.

Prepare and prevent

Our proprietary and interactive security map allows you to visualize a traveler’s current and upcoming locations against known risk events.

The in-depth destination reports and automated risk alerts will keep travel managers and their travelers informed before they ever step on a plane.

Communicate and act

When an incident occurs, we provide multiple ways to communicate with travelers.

Real-time mobile alerts to both travelers and travel managers to keep them informed and aligned.  Automated “I’m Safe” check-in functionality for highrisk incidents. Responses sync back to interactive security maps in DecisionSource. Reach out directly to travelers via email or SMS with contact data pulled straight from their itineraries.

There are some aspects of travel where an employer’s responsibility towards employee risk is less clear.

Bleisure travel

Whilst on a business trip, an employer’s responsibility for employee safety and welfare begins the second they leave home (for the airport) until they are back home. Engaging in leisure activities during a trip adds complexity, particularly when leisure and business travel are blended together in a bleisure trip. Clear policies should define the boundaries between work and leisure, while the validity of the company’s travel insurance during leisure time should also be ascertained.

Bleisure travel as an employee benefit

Post-pandemic, blended travel has become more popular than ever and has supported the growth of the “digital nomad.” Many business travel insurance policies will cover employees when they extend their trip to include some leisure time. Companies can promote this as an employee benefit, helping with talent acquisition and staff retention

Managing the entire risk

It’s a mistake simply to ensure a TRM program covers only the most common travel risks, as it leaves companies exposed to the legal consequences of unmanaged risks.

Remote workers

The boundaries between work-related travel and remote working are becoming increasingly blurred. When a natural disaster occurs, should a company look after both business travelers and remote workers in the area? An employer’s legal responsibility for out-of-office work has become less clear. Ideally, TRM should extend to all impacted employees, and not just to those traveling for business. Travel risk management is becoming people risk management.

Don’t just focus on high-profile risks

When it comes to travel, it’s easy to focus on the high-profile risks, such as terrorist attacks or large-scale natural disasters. While it’s important to prepare for such events, particularly since their travel impact could be significant, in reality, they occur only rarely. It’s just as important to prepare for smaller impact risks, which are easily overlooked, but which occur much more frequently. These can be more isolated incidents, impacting a smaller number of or even single travelers. They can include medical emergencies or car accidents – the number one cause of non-natural business traveler deaths*.

* Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Traffic and Road Safety

Find out how BCD has supported companies with their travel risk managements needs

Safran’s security team, discount retailer.

• Duty of care

Complying with duty of are is the main driver for establishing a TRM program, as it will help mitigate the risk of lawsuits and other damages.

Past incidents

A post-incident review is often the catalyst for implementing or improving TRM at a company. Where a program is already in place, a review can help identify what’s working and what isn’t and herald the necessary adjustments. Companies experiencing frequent incidents – by the very nature of their travel patterns – can have some of the most developed TRM solutions.

Employer ethics

Organizational culture and ethics can sometimes override compliance as the main motivator for TRM. Protecting staff may be a core value which drives companies to invest the necessary resources. As this may require the TRM program to be aligned with multiple organizational policies, sufficient resourcing will help ensure this implemented effectively.

Travel risk management solutions and comprehensive TRM programs

It’s possible to classify common TRM solutions into two groups: inadequate and adequate.

Duty of care is not a transferrable responsibility

While insurance companies and third-party assistance providers can be critical in providing duty of care solutions, an organization’s duty of care is not a transferrable responsibility.

Employers should always maintain an active role in overseeing supplier relationships and service fulfillment to ensure their employees’ health, safety and security needs are being met.

Inadequate solutions

These provide some level of travel risk management but are unlikely to be sufficient for full duty of care, thereby exposing companies legal and financial penalties. The most common approach is to have insurance only, but it’s not enough on its own. Travel insurance is often insufficient for non-medical incidents, such as natural disasters, kidnapping and civil unrest. And some medical incidents may also be excluded. Relying on travel insurance alone, organizations increase the risk of reputational and financial damage, as many frequentlyoccurring types of incident will not be covered. 

As a first step, it would be an improvement to implement a basic managed solution, which does not include assistance. In this instance, companies would appoint a travel manager(s) to look after travel tracking and travel insurance. The manager could also arrange all travel or assign a dedicated travel management company (TMC). 

While the travel manager becomes the contact point in event of an incident, they won’t be available 24/7. And they lack the resources to support employees on the ground. Incident responses tend to be poor and slow and may full short of a company’s duty of care requirements.

Adequate solutions

These offer good protection for traveling employees, aligning well with a company’s brand and values. While large organizations have the resources to build their own TRM solution, many companies choose to simply buy a complete one from an external assistance provider. And even those companies creating their own solutions, may decide to outsource certain components. 

When selecting an external provider, it’s important for them to be able to offer 24/7 medical and security emergency assistance and be able to cover all costs, following up with insurance claims at a later date. 

Such a solution that reacts with assistance is considered to be adequate from a duty of care perspective. But more comprehensive solutions with prevent or reduce employee exposure to risks and act proactively when risks change.

Comprehensive travel risk management programs

Comprehensive managed solutions consider all risks and create risk mitigations for all stages in a business trip, from planning to a traveler’s return home.

Pre-trip processes

The best solution is to not expose travelers to risk in the first place and prevent incidents happening through good planning and preparation. The following methods can be effective:

• Automated integration of travel bookings with country risk levels to trigger the need for travel approval.
• Pre-trip approval to ensure travel plans adhere to TRM policy. For certain high-risk destinations, travel could be blocked with authorization.
• As a policy requirement for work travel, employees must register with the TRM program before departure.
• Pre-trip medical approval to ensure a traveler is fit to travel, thereby reducing the risks of health-related incidents.
• Safety and security training.
• Alerts both pre- and on-trip.
• Prebooked travel services to reduce the risk of incidents. Booking secure ground transportation from known safe suppliers is one of the most commonly used services.

Proactive assistance

Comprehensive solutions may often include a proactive process in responding to an incident. This would include reaching out to all employees in the vicinity of a major incident, to confirm they’re ok or need assistance. 

Location information can help identify which employees to contact. Communication should extend to employees planning travel to the affected area too. Travel booking data will be a useful source of whom to contact.

Pre-trip processes should cover all employees

Ensure that pre-trip preparations are inclusive of the needs of all travelers in your workforce. 

Companies must look after the safety and well-being of all travelers, but certain diversity dimensions such as travelers’ race and ethnicity, gender, gender identity and expression, age, sexual orientation, neurodiversity and accessibility for travelers with disabilities, to highlight some, may require additional focus to ensure inclusive travel experiences.

Travel risk management program roles

Multiple stakeholders need to be involved in implementing travel risk management programs. Once these are in place, annual table-top exercises should be held to fully test incident management processes from end to end. Such exercises should also include insurance companies and any third party assistance providers to simulate emergency processes and responses as realistically as possible.

In companies where such a role exists, the travel manager should be involved in the TRM program, as it forms a critical part of managing employee trips.

A company’s security manager may often be assigned responsibility for its TRM program. 

But travel risk can often be a small part of the role. And security’s status as a cost rather than a source of revenue may make it difficult to secure investment. 

Companies need to see TRM as securing revenue and profit and not merely as a cost.

• Human Resources

As TRM programs support a company’s duty of care, it’s crucial to involve HR in their creation and when a major incident occurs.

Travel Management

By mandating their use in the travel policy, a travel management company (TMC) or corporate travel department (CTD) can assist with pre-trip authorization and tracking of travelers via bookings data. 

And by requiring employees to book through the TMC or CTD, companies are reducing the risks associated with unmanaged bookings.

Medical Assistance Provider

As health-related issues are the second most common faced by business travelers, including a medical assistance provider in a TRM program is crucial. Medical insurance coverage for traveling employees will most likely include a company to contact for medical assistance. But this may restrict assistance only to those incidents specifically covered by the policy.

Working independently with the medical assistance provider can ensure the TRM Program supports both medical and non-medical incidents. One number (only) to get assistance in an emergency will reduce traveler stress in the event of an incident. And if other specialist providers are required, then the medial assistance provider can get them involved, as and when necessary.

Security Assistance Provider

Some incidents will be specifically security-related, so including a security assistance provider in the TRM program is another necessity. Such providers can book secure ground transportation to reduce risk when travelling between the airport and hotel, for example. And in the event of an incident, they can provide security personnel or assist in evacuations.

Insurance companies

Knowing that an insurance company is on hand to handle claims and cover costs provides extra reassurance when delivering support to traveling employees. Action should not be delayed by concerns about payment. To get the right insurance, it’s important to describe the level of protection required, the number of employees requiring coverage, and what their travel and work patterns are. The insurance company will also need to know how it’s expected to work with the travel risk management program.

For companies with travel to countries with a high risk of kidnapping, it’s important to remember that this requires a special type of insurance, which might not be included in a standard travel insurance package. Separate kidnap and ransom insurance should be investigated.

Threat Intelligence Provider

Threat intelligence is a crucial part of the risk assessment, which can determine to which countries employees may travel and what security preparations they should make. Real-time 24/7 alert services can enable assistance to be provided proactively if a threat develops.

Internal Management

The most important role in a TRM Program is ultimately held by a company’s own management. ISO 31030 has leadership and commitment at its core, connected to all other parts of the TRM framework. Commitment needs to be secured and this can be done simply by pointing out the financial, reputational and possibly criminal damages that might arise if management fails in its duty of care towards employees.

Travel risk management tasks and processes

Leadership commitment and communication.

Senior management support is crucial, more so if they mandate the use of the TRM program by all travelers. Failure to participate should result in denial of travel. But the TRM program needs to be effective, and this requires senior management support in the shape of sufficient resourcing. Absent this, and the program risks functioning poorly and failing to fulfil the company’s duty of care.

Rollout process

Getting the rollout right is key to traveler adoption of a TRM program. Employees need to know the program has been introduced, what it means for them and how they can use it. What number to use in an emergency? How to use the insurance policy? The TMC through which bookings should be made? Any mobile apps that need to be used? These are some of the questions travelers will need answers to.

In a comprehensive TRM solution, pre-trip processes are the best way to ensure a high-quality program. Getting it right on pre-trip authorization, mandating booking through designated TMCs, education and high-risk booking processes is the place to start.

Where an external emergency assistance provider is used, it’s important to establish efficient interaction with their systems, and with those of any subcontractors that might be used.

Common mistakes

Does your company have specialized insurance coverage.

Additional policies may be required for kidnap and ransom and the risks to the company, should the safety of key personnel be compromised.

Travel insurance is enough

By relying solely on travel insurance that includes work-related travel, a company will fail in its duty of care to employees, exposing it to legal and financial risks. This is because insurances normally include restrictions, and that means employees will not be covered in certain circumstances. Pre-existing medical conditions, evacuations due to security and health threats, cyber security attacks, natural disasters may often be excluded from travel insurance, but they’re the sort of risks that many business travelers face.

Should an event or situation be excluded from the policy, the employee may not be assisted or could face paying for assistance themselves.

Misunderstanding mobile phone tracking

It’s a common misunderstanding that mobile phone location tracking conflicts with an individual’s privacy. When used for TRM purposes, it’s possible to limit an employer’s access to location data to prevent its misuse.

To allay fears about real-time tracking by employers, availability of mobile location data could be restricted to a third party emergency assistance provider. And if this isn’t the case, employees could turn off tracking for a specific location or restrict its use to certain areas.

Common problems

Traveler resistance.

Company culture and individual behaviors and preferences are the most common obstacles to a TRM program. Experienced travelers who may in the past have faced high-risk situations without the support of TRM may doubt its value and may be reluctant to comply with any policy requirements.

Even when TRM is mandated in travel programs, they won’t cover bookings made outside of travel policy. Some travelers may simply be unaware of the mandate. Others might believe they can find better deals or may be dissatisfied with the service they’re receiving from their travel manager or TMC. Perhaps the policy prevents them using their preferred airline or hotel chain? Whatever the reason, such bookings could be supported by the TRM program, if employees share a copy of the booking confirmation email with the TRM system.

Technical issues

Even with all employees onboard, technical problems can derail TRM:

• Bad travel booking data – use of free text fields means it’s easy to enter incorrect traveler details
• Location tracking not working – as such systems often operate in the background, they can sometimes be disabled by operating systems looking to preserve mobile phone battery life
• Incorrect employee data

Legal issues

While data protection and privacy laws shouldn’t preventthe operation of successful TRM programs, they still need to be legally compliant. There are often restrictions over the cross-border transfer of personal data. Ownership and control of personal data must also be established, to ensure legal compliance and legal responsibility in the event of a data breach. And there need to be the proper protections in place to secure against cyberattacks and threats.

Employee engagement can reduce traveler resistance

Actively engage with employees to emphasize the importance of the TRM program.

Craft any messaging to highlight how allowing access to location data, personal mobile phone numbers and emergency contacts can help companies protect their employees in the event of an incident.

How BCD Travel can help you

Travel risk management tools and solutions.

Communication is key to successful TRM.Communication needs to be enabled both to and from the traveler and there are a number of solutions worth considering.

Destination intelligence

As part of the pre-trip authorization process, companies can provide destination intelligence to employees. This can help them make informed decisions before a trip and can help identify and mitigate risks.

Travel tracker

A system integrated with the travel management company (TMC) automatically receives copies of all flight, hotel, rail and ground transportation bookings. In the event of an incident, travel managers can more easily search active and future bookings within specific geographic areas. Travel trackers can also be used to manage risk for future trips as the situation evolves. But travel trackers can only show the booked and not actual location of traveling employees. For this reason, they should be augmented with other solutions, such as mobile phone locators.

Mobile phone locator

Such devices provide a real-time location of an individual mobile phone, meaning travelers can be located, even if they deviate from their original itinerary. To protect their privacy, location tracking could be restricted to predetermined geographic areas or provide less exact locations. And possibly misuse by an employer could be avoided by only allowing dedicated assistance providers to access location data.

Mass communication

Many travelers could be impacted by the same incident. Mass communication offers an effective way to inform all employees in an affected area, and not just travelers. Such tools are already used for business continuity and crisis management purposes, but they should be enhanced with TRM functionality.

Integrated TRM platforms

The solutions detailed so far may be used in isolation, but they are increasingly being integrated within the same TRM platform. Some include APIs (application program interfaces) to allow them to link with other systems, including HR platforms containing employee personal data.

The future of travel risk management

The post-pandemic acceleration in the shift towards an increasingly mobile workforce has blurred the definition between work-related travel and remote working. When it comes to the duty of care towards employees, TRM must apply beyond those traveling purely in the traditional sense. Travel risk management will need to transition into people risk management, addressing the risks faced by employees wherever they are.

As it broadens its focus to people across companies, TRM must also leverage technology to automate and integrate better with other company systems and processes.

In whatever shape or form it takes, one thing is clear: TRM will need to grow to satisfy the needs to travelers in an increasingly global, but far from safe world.

Fulfilling the duty of care

While the ISO 30130 standard can provide a comprehensive take on what travel managers should do to ensure duty of care compliance, it may be hard to decide what actions to prioritize. Safeture has created its own simple checklist as a useful starting point:

• Create a travel policy
• Mandate a travel management company for all employee travel
• Secure management commitment, budget and resources to implement a TRM program
• Ensure comprehensive travel insurance is in place
• Contract with an emergency assistance supplier able to manage both medical and security incidents
• Implement a system for locating travelers

TRM’s expanding scope

Travel risk management is evolving. Agile organizations, which want to attract and keep the best employee talent, are expanding TRM’s scope beyond travel to include employees working from home, hybrid workers and even digital nomads.

In the end, it’s not just about duty of care for travelers, but duty of care for all employees. And this is why travel risk management is evolving into people risk management.

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Navigator Blog   >   4 Ways Duty of Care Matters to Your Travel Program

4 Ways Duty of Care Matters to Your Travel Program

As the world of corporate travel continues to adapt to a new model of business shaped by COVID-19, the principles of Duty of Care have remained consistent: Companies still have a legal need to limit liability and a moral obligation to provide a reasonable standard of care to their employees, including their road warriors.

However, while the principles remain unchanged, the COVID-19 pandemic has revealed that many businesses lack a comprehensive Duty of Care (DOC) platform . In order to be effective, your DOC solution must go beyond written policy and offer risk management tactics and communication tools that allow you to respond to an evolving situation. Here are four key ways DOC should work in lockstep with your travel program.

1. Provide a consistent standard of care to all employees

Before the pandemic, most travel program DOC policies focused exclusively on the traveler. According to Direct Travel’s Chief Technology Officer, Darryl Hoover, this has its roots in a traditional mindset that seeks to mitigate location-based travel risks, such as a terrorist incident or natural disaster. In those scenarios, only the employees traveling in the affected areas would be provided with the relevant information and DOC procedures.

COVID-19 has shown that this strategy can be effective only up to a certain point. With an outbreak of infectious disease, the corporate traveler is just one point of entry from a risk perspective. A “non-traveling” employee vacationing in an area that experiences a disease outbreak poses the same level of threat as an employee traveling for business to a known hot spot. One solution includes incorporating a managed leisure program underneath your corporate travel umbrella to provide a line of sight into employee travel. We’ve explored this topic more in depth as part of an earlier blog post on the future of health management and employee safety, which you can access here .

2. Locate and communicate with employees on the road

The ability of your organization to respond to threats and alert your employees is only as good as the quality of your data. At the onset of the pandemic, some businesses struggled to pinpoint their employees’ locations and navigate border closures in time, leaving travelers stranded . Unlike traditional location-based threats, an incident happening on an international scale like COVID-19 does not provide companies with the necessary time or capacity to individually track down each employee through manual systems of communication. Instead, your DOC platform should provide an automated way to provide a global view of all employees and instantly communicate with them.

3. Keep employees informed of developing situations

Your DOC solution and risk management strategy should also extend beyond reactive measures. Until a COVID-19 vaccine is developed, experts predict reoccurring outbreaks of varying levels . A business with a proactive strategy anticipates such emerging threats and keeps employees informed of growing and waning risks. Use your DOC platform to provide your employees with up-to-date information on a regular basis. For those returning to the road, utilize trip briefs to provide destination intelligence and appropriately set traveler expectations.

4. Offer accountability beyond the corporate sphere 

The principles of Duty of Care apply not only to a business’s obligation to its employees, but also to society as a whole. As Hoover points out, the COVID-19 pandemic further showed how interconnected the world has become thanks in part to travel. Without a DOC solution integrated into your travel program, this moral imperative (and corporate liability) becomes more challenging to uphold.

For example, if an employee tests positive for an infectious disease after staying with a preferred hotel supplier or using a car rental service, what obligation does the company have to notify partners who may have been exposed? Employers also have to consider how they should use expense management tools to track possible sites of exposure created by the employee, such as restaurants they may have visited during their trip. These types of situations contain layered nuances of responsibility and become even more difficult to tackle accordingly if your organization already lacks a robust DOC platform.

Your Travel Management Company can help you address those questions and ensure your Duty of Care solution meet the needs of the moment and anticipates future challenges. Contact us to schedule a complimentary demo of Direct Travel’s intelligence risk management platform, Direct Duty of Care.

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• Duty of Care

Duty of care is a serious responsibility in this time of globalization. As business travel has exploded into new markets worldwide, risks have grown significantly in size and scope while national regulations are increasing the organization's burden of legal responsibility. As an employer, you should always know where and when your employees are in any given location. You must also know how to find them and communicate with them, should the need arise.

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Duty of care for all

The risks associated with a global pandemic have dominated people’s minds for almost the last two years. But as travel returns, it’s important to recognize that other risks – like cyberterrorism, climate change, extreme weather events, and economic threats – haven’t gone away.

Travel programs must incorporate or adjust their strategies for managing an expanded definition of duty of care.

Keep traveling employees safe

The focus of risk management has pivoted towards employees, making it less about travel only. In recent years, employees have been given greater freedom over the location of their daily work, and many have made good use of this liberty. According to our early 2022 survey of 875 English-speaking business travelers worldwide, 57% would like to work from anywhere (as digital nomads), if employer policies allowed.* With remote workers increasingly coming on the radar of travel managers, it's time to rethink travel risk management strategies and practices.

People risk management, employee profiles and employee mobility are all parts of the puzzle that need to be pieced together by employers. The new approach should embrace:

• Hybrid workforces
• New sets of locations
• Work-from-anywhere policies
• Political unrest
• Changing values
• Traveler wellness
• Risk mitigation

Who's responsible?

Risk management crosses multiple roles and departments – from Risk Management and Human Resources (HR) to Procurement, Communication and the C-Suite. Collaboration is crucial to providing the oversight stakeholders need to prevent risks or mitigate the consequences.

Meets rising demands for 24/7 traveler security

Developed specifically for travel and security managers to manage their traveler security program, the mobile app provides 24/7 coverage of active travelers against destination risk and incidents, allowing managers to monitor and respond remotely.

• Tracks caution, warning and emergency level alerts against traveler bookings
• Delivers emergency level alerts via push notification to the home screen of the mobile device, prompting a list of impacted travelers
• Travel and security managers can contact affected travelers directly from the app via SMS, email or click-to-call
• Clients who have enabled emergency response capabilities in the TripSource® traveler app have the added value of seeing who has checked-in as safe so they can focus on the remaining travelers

The steps to managing risk

Determine who is at risk..

When determining risk, understand who is at risk and the potential factors affecting their travel. People risk management, employee profiles and employee mobility are all pieces of the puzzle. Knowing the traveler profile will determine how governmental, health advice and guidelines apply to your business and travelers.

Identify travel threats and hazards.

Examine each stage of the journey, including (but not limited to): travel to the airport, air travel, ground transportation, accommodation, food safety, meeting venue and country/city requirements.

Devise a matrix to score risk as Minor, Moderate, High or Extreme.

Decide which control measures to use and what actions to take. Control measures can be defined as the 4 Ts – Treat, Transfer, Terminate, Tolerate.

Every business, in collaboration with safety and security teams, should define levels and appropriate actions in response to risk events.

Develop risk standards and guidelines.

In conjunction with security and risk teams, help your employees understand what is expected of them, what they should do and when, and how to make the best decisions for themselves and the business. Collect traveler feedback and use it to determine whether the measures put in place are adequate and being applied.

Guidelines should include:

• Awareness and education
• Safety guidelines and procedures
• Preferred partners and approved processes
• Assessment of international travel requirements (health passports, quarantine restrictions, etc.)

Educate and communicate.

Make sure employees are aware of the dangers they may face any time and anywhere. A best practice and regular action should be to make sure travelers know exactly where to find essential information about COVID, civil unrest, extreme weather events, terrorism, economic risks, cybersecurity breaches and other disruptions.

Traveler safety.

Risk and disruptions can occur at any time. Share these helpful guides with your travelers to help them manager their safety at every stage of the journey.

COVID-19 Information Hub

Get ready to go.

A resource to help keep travelers safe in today’s heightened risk environments. With real-time information on constantly changing rules, laws and procedures for traveling during the pandemic.

• Country risk levels and requirements
• Hotel and airline information, including cleaning protocols, testing requirements, necessary health certifications, quarantine rules and more
• Information detailing vaccination percentage complete by population by country
• Information included for airlines participating in digital health document trials
• Multi-language functionality

People wellbeing

Duty of care and traveler wellbeing have consistently ranked as the top program priorities for travel buyers over the past two years.* Though wellbeing is an acknowledged concern, programs don’t often reflect it. While 90% of business travelers say employee wellbeing is a priority at their company, only 50% feel that their company provides traveler wellbeing support.* Employee wellbeing must move higher up the agenda. Otherwise, employers risk damage to employee physical and mental health and decreasing job satisfaction. Managing employee risks accordingly could translate into competitive advantage for any organization.

*Source: BCD Travel online survey of 875 business travelers, Feb 2022.

RESEARCH SNAPSHOT

How travel program priorities are changing.

We’ve surveyed our buyers multiple times since the pandemic to understand how their travel program priorities are shifting to meet company and traveler needs. Duty of care has remained consistently important, as has sustainability. Buyers are indicating that savings and cost control are less important.

*Source: BCD Travel buyer surveys conducted in Jan. 2020 (79 responses), Apr. 2020 (125 responses), Sept. 2020 (88 responses), April 2021 (101 responses) and Oct. 2021 (106 responses).

Make wellbeing part of the program

• Tailor messaging to advise travelers of convenient health and wellness options: hotel gyms, nearby parks with jogging paths, juice bars, walking tours and more.
• Add health-oriented hotels to your supplier mix and promote their offerings with travelers.
• Ask travelers for feedback. Does your program help them stay healthy on the road? What increases their stress level before a trip?

Is employee wellbeing a priority at your company?

Top 5 challenges to introducing wellbeing policies

Source: BCD Travel online survey of 118 travel buyers, March 2022.

A broader set of risks

Learn more about people risk management, cybersecurity and other trends that can affect your business travel program.

Help at your fingertips

Duty of care technology innovations have solved for some of the challenges of the past. Smart, automated systems and solutions that work seamlessly across the program have replaced manual, one-dimensional processes and fragmented content sources. Smart technologies include:

• BCD Alert and COVID-19 Hub
• ‘I’m Safe’ mobile check in capabilities
• Automated trip authorization
• Interactive security maps
• Location-based risk notifications

Cybersecurity essentials

Cyber threats and their potential impact continue to grow. Many travel managers already recognize the importance of cybersecurity, placing it at the front of their TMC relationship. But they also need to protect their company and travelers from active cyberthreats. The first step is to recognize cybersecurity as a daily risk to travel and take responsibility for tackling it. Prevention, or minimizing the impact, will pay dividends over simply responding to cyber incidents after the damage has been done. Second, as employees are often the weakest point in a company’s defense, it’s highly recommended that travelers receive proper security training and follow the right precautions when taking a business trip.

TRAVELERS BEWARE: BUSINESS TRIPS ARE COMING BACK – AND SO ARE FRAUDSTERS

Digital health passes.

Digital health passes (DHPs) emerged in the pandemic as a tool to help validate the authenticity of travelers’ COVID test results and vaccination records. Though not mandatory, DHPs have an important role to play in restoring mobility and confidence in travel for governments and travelers alike.

Multi-national organizations, airlines, independent agencies and governments have been busy developing DHPs but none have been fully deployed. Airlines have developed interim short-term solutions aimed at easing the burden for passengers and airport staff, but many continue to trial (often multiple) digital health passes on select routes.

TIP: Travelers can use the Airport & Travel Supplier Policies section of our COVID-19 Information Hub to find out what DHP an airline or country requests for travel.

What you can do

Duty of care checklist, what bcd travel is doing.

Fueling informed travel decisions through data insights

Offering tailored trip authorization solutions

Arming travel managers with the latest policies and travel requirements

Sharing expertise through program risk management assessments

Communicating risks, requirements and policy to travelers at relevant times in the trip cycle

When you put a good duty of care strategy into place, grounded in data and sound advice, you can operate daily with the assurance that you'll have the tools you need to communicate and act when anything – from a minor trip disruption to a major crisis – affects your travelers.

—Jorge Mesa

Director, Global Crisis Management, BCD Travel

Traveler communication

How to prepare, inform and communicate to your travelers, log in to connect to chat with bcd travel experts, collaborate with peers, access support resources and stay informed of industry news..

Duty of care

Nothing is more important than the safety and wellbeing of your people. All organizations have a duty of care to protect employees and volunteers, and this is particularly important when they are traveling to remote or unfamiliar places. Your travelers' safety is a critical element of our service.

We offer a variety of services depending on how you currently manage risks and duty of care. We work with all major risk specialists and, if risk and duty of care are already part of your travel program, we can work alongside your existing provider.

Alternatively, we offer a suite of risk and duty of care solutions. These ensure that risk to your people is minimized through establishing and assessing risk, enabling informed decision making based on the latest intelligence, and managing the situation should the worst happen.

24/7 support

In an ideal world, travel plans would run smoothly without any incident. However, disruptions caused by last-minute changes, weather, strike action, natural disasters or terrorist incidents can have major implications for travelers, particularly those working in the humanitarian and non-profit sectors. 

Our out-of-hours service is operated by Diversity Travel consultants 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. When you call, you'll be speaking to a consultant with the experience, knowledge and autonomy to make a decision, ensuring a swift solution there and then.

Traveler-tracking technology

We combine our team's expertise with leading-edge technology to maximize the safety and wellbeing of all travelers. 

Our industry-leading intelligence system provides us with the latest information on potential incidents and risks that may impact travel. You can receive notifications directly from the system or we can filter the alerts, sending you only those that are relevant to your travel policy and behavior.

Our traveler-tracking tool, provides real-time intelligence on your travelers’ locations, using colour-coded ratings to highlight the level of risk.

Following an alert, we notify travelers in high-risk areas or those due to travel imminently, then make arrangements for alternative travel or repatriation.

Our partnership with Sherpa

We've partnered with Sherpa to provide extra reassurance to our clients.  The platform provides the most up-to-date information on a country’s COVID-19 travel requirements, from testing and quarantines to vaccination information.

Users can access Sherpa in a single click from anywhere within our online booking tool, making it easy to find the information that you need during the booking process.

Travel Risk Management

Travel risk has never been more important, which is why we’re thrilled to partner with global risk experts ILS (International Location Safety Ltd)

Travel Insurance Customization

We know that the unexpected can happen when you are traveling. That's why we have partnered with battleface to give you access to fully customizable travel insurance for peace of mind when on the move. If it matters to you, then it matters to us.

Going even further

Depending on your requirements, we can offer a fully custom service that enables you to manage every aspect of risk management from within one system, including locating, tracking and contacting the traveler. All communication can be logged and used to demonstrate compliance with duty of care obligations.

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Final Rule to Establish First-Ever Regulations for Adult Protective Services

Rule will improve quality and consistency of APS services across states

Today, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Administration for Community Living (ACL), announced a final rule to establish the first federal regulations for Adult Protective Services (APS). The new regulations promote high quality APS and will improve consistency in services across states. With the final rule, ACL aims to support the national network that delivers APS, with the ultimate goal of better meeting the needs of adults who experience, or are at risk of, maltreatment and self-neglect.

“Everyone should be able to live without fear of abuse or neglect. Adult protective services systems play a crucial role in making that possible,” said HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra. “These first-ever federal APS regulations strengthen and support their critical work and reflect the ongoing commitment of the Biden-Harris Administration to supporting the health, well-being, and independence of older adults and people with disabilities.”

“For many years, the APS community, Congress and other stakeholders have called for federal guidance, leadership and resources for APS systems. With the APS final rule, ACL is answering that call,” said Alison Barkoff, who leads the Administration for Community Living. “The new regulations, along with ACL’s state formula grants for APS – which have been made possible with recent appropriations from Congress – represent a significant leap forward in our support for the critical work of APS programs, and we are looking forward to working with our partners to implement them.”

The APS final rule:

• Establishes a set of national minimum standards for the operation of APS programs that all state APS systems must meet – and encourages states to exceed them.
• Requires APS systems to ensure that planning and delivery of all services respect the fundamental right of adults to make their own life choices and that services are driven by the person receiving them.
• Establishes stronger protections for clients subject to, or at risk of, guardianship.
• Requires response within 24 hours of screening to cases that are life-threatening or likely to cause irreparable harm or significant loss of income, assets, or resources.
• Requires APS to provide at least two ways – at least one online – to report maltreatment or self-neglect 24 hours per day, seven days per week.
• Requires robust conflict of interest policies to support ethical APS practice.
• Establishes definitions for key APS terms to improve information sharing, data collection and program standardization.
• Promotes coordination and collaboration with state Medicaid agencies, long-term care ombudsmen, tribal APS, law enforcement and other partners.

The final rule is the culmination of many years of engagement with stakeholders. It also reflects the thoughtful, detailed input ACL received on the proposed rule .

The new regulations will take effect on June 7 of this year, but regulated entities have until June 7, 2028 to fully comply. ACL looks forward to working with stakeholders to implement the final rule and will provide robust technical assistance and other resources in the coming months.

• Join ACL for an overview of the updated regulations on Tuesday, May 14 at 3 p.m. ET. ( Advance registration is required).
• Additional information, including a plain-language overview of the final rule, a link to the complete text of the final rule on the Federal Register website, and registration details for the informational webinar, can be found on ACL.gov .

Background on Adult Maltreatment and Adult Protective Services

Research shows that at least one in 10 older adults who live in the community experiences some form of maltreatment each year – and this is likely an undercount, because only 1 in 14 cases is reported. We also know that adults with disabilities experience abuse and neglect far more often than their peers without disabilities, although estimates of the prevalence vary significantly from one study to the next.

This can have serious physical and mental health, financial, and social consequences. People who experience abuse have higher rates of depression, hospitalization and institutionalization – and they are more likely to die prematurely. They also may experience deteriorated family relationships, diminished autonomy, and institutionalization as the direct result of maltreatment.

APS programs across the country support older adults and adults with disabilities who experience, or who are at risk of, maltreatment or self-neglect. APS programs investigate reports of maltreatment; conduct case planning, monitoring and evaluation; and provide (or connect people to) a variety of medical, social service, economic, legal, housing, law enforcement, and other protective, emergency, or support services to help them recover.

APS has been funded and administered wholly at the state or local level until recently. Consequently, there is wide variation in APS services and practices between, and even within, states. The new regulations – along with recent funding from ACL for state APS programs made possible by Congress -- will improve consistency and quality of services across the country.

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Kim leads bipartisan House bill to speed up health care access for veterans leaving active duty

As a wife of an army veteran, Rep. Young Kim, R-Calif. knows all too well the struggle veterans across the country face when leaving active duty service and transitioning to civilian life.

Especially when it comes to health care coverage.

What You Need To Know

Currently service members see a lapse in medical coverage when they leave active duty  rep. young kim, r-calif., is leading a bipartisan bill to create a 3-year pilot program through the department of veterans affairs to allow members of the armed services to pre-enroll for their health care instead of being forced to wait 180 days to register a companion bill in the senate was introduced earlier this year with bipartisan support the legislation has been endorsed by the veterans of foreign wars, the american legion and the wounded warrior project.

“When they are on active duty, they are covered by this federal government program called TRICARE. But when they separate from active service, that coverage ends and there is all also a lapse between the care that they can receive once they separate from the active duty. So I wanted to fill the gap,” explained Kim in a one-on-one interview with Spectrum News Tuesday.

Kim plans to introduce a new bill Wednesday called the Combat Veterans Pre-Enrollment Act of 2024, which would create a 3-year pilot program through the Department of Veterans Affairs to allow members of the armed services to pre-enroll for their health care instead of being forced to wait 180 days to register. Right now, transitioning service members are required to wait until they have left the military and received their official separation paperwork to apply for Veterans Health Administration health care and other services.

The bill would also create a reporting mechanism, requiring the VA to report to Congress on the program and how many service members utilized the pre-enrollment each year.

To be eligible under the bill’s provisions, a service member must be on active military duty, must already be able to enroll in VA health care and must have served in a theater of combat since Nov. 11, 1998.

“We don't want servicemembers — after actively serving, defending our country, defending our nation — to come back and transition into civilian life with the added burden of what they need to do if they don't have [health care] coverage,” said Kim. “It’s common sense...which is why we're bringing the common sense legislation to make sure service members have an opportunity to opt into the program,” she added.

The VA has seen an uptick in demand for service in recent years, emphasizing the need for veterans to have more immediate access to health care. The VA reported it conducted more than 116 million health care appointments in 2023. In March, the VA announced it had enrolled 401,006 Veterans in VA health care within the past year, 30% more than the 307,831 enrolled the previous year. The VA cites this as the most enrollees since 2016, and “nearly a 50% increase over pandemic-level enrollment in 2020.”

The bill has already received a number of endorsements, including from the Veterans of Foreign Wars, American Legion, and Wounded Warrior Project. A companion bill was introduced earlier this year in the Senate by Sens. Angus King, I-Maine; Joe Manchin, D-W.Va.; Kevin Cramer, R-N.D.; and Mike Rounds, R-S.D.

On Kim’s bill, Reps. Salud Carbajal, D-Calif.; Juan Ciscomani, R-Ariz.; and Jill Tokuda, D-Hawaii, have signed on.

“I think it shows how shameful we have been in not providing seamless health care to our veterans that are transitioning out of their service in the military, into civilian life, health care for them and their families. It's imperative that we do that,” said Carbajal, a Marine Corps veteran himself.

We reached out to the Department of Veterans Affairs for comment, and while the department is “unable to comment on this pending legislation,” VA Press Secretary Terrence Hayes told Spectrum News that the VA is "focused on working with our partners at all levels to ensure Veterans and their families have a smooth transition when they depart military service — and get the VA care and benefits they deserve.”

Eligibility for ACA health insurance extended to DACA recipients: What it means

The Biden Administration has expanded eligibility for health care coverage to immigrants enrolled in the program known as DACA, or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. KERA Immigration Reporter Stella Chavez spoke with Justin Martin, the local host of All Things Considered, about what this decision means.

What did the Biden Administration do and who does this affect?

Late last week, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services finalized a regulation that allows those with DACA status to sign up for health care through the Affordable Care Act, so either the Health Insurance Marketplace or the Basic Health Program.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services estimates that around 100,000 DACA recipients who don’t have insurance could enroll.

Who qualifies for DACA or who’s considered a DACA recipient?

The program was created under the Obama administration in 2012. It offers undocumented immigrants temporary protection from deportation and gives them work authorization for two years. 

DACA recipients are immigrants who came to the U.S. as undocumented children. They may have come with a parent or family member or family friend.

To qualify for enrollment, they had to be under the age of 31 as of June 15, 2012, and they must have lived continuously in the U.S. since June 15, 2007.

They must be enrolled in school or have graduated or received a GED certificate. Also, they can’t have a felony conviction. There are a few other requirements which are explained on the USCIS’ DACA page .

What’s been the reaction to this news?

DACA recipients and their supporters are happy about this decision. I spoke with Antonio Arellano, Vice President of Communications at Next Gen America, which bills itself as the country’s largest youth vote organization. He talked about what this means for those who are eligible to sign up for health benefits.

“This is going to be life changing for people,” Arellano said. "The undocumented community often has to make the difficult decision of seeking health care or paying the rent, or making ends meet because of how inaccessible and unaffordable health care coverage is in America.”

Arellano said access to health care is not only important for someone's physical well-being, it's also a driver of economic opportunity and social mobility.

"If you're too sick to go to school or too sick to go to work, you are automatically going to fall behind," he said.

Is there anything that this new rule doesn’t cover?

Yes. It doesn’t allow DACA recipients to enroll in Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program. That was initially part of the plan, but Republicans pushed back. It remains to be seen if that will ultimately happen,

I understand there are still some unresolved issues for DACA recipients.

Yes, while Arellano and others say they’re happy about this latest ruling, DACA was never meant to be permanent fix for those who are enrolled in the program. They’d like to see a more permanent resolution.

“We want to recognize that while the ACA announcement is a cause for celebration, it is crucial to recognize that it’s just one piece of the puzzle," Arellano said. "President Biden and Vice President Harris must continue to advocate for comprehensive immigration reform that includes a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers.”

Copyright 2024 KERA

National Nurses Week 2024: Chipotle's free burrito giveaway, more deals and discounts

Nurses should be celebrated every day, but they do have a special week: national nurses week, which runs may 6-12. restaurants like chipotle and buffalo wild wings have specials during the week..

Chipotle is giving away 100,000 burritos for National Nurses Week. And you don't necessarily have to be a nurse to get in on the deal.

From Monday, May 6, to Friday, May 10, healthcare workers can sign up for a chance to win a free burrito e-card on the Chipotle website . At the end of National Nurses Week, 100,000 healthcare workers will be randomly selected to get an email asking them to verify their employment status via ID.me. Those who successfully verify that within 48 hours will get a free burrito e-card.

Customers can get in on the action, too, by purchasing limited-edition Chipotle Healthcare Heroes E-Gift Cards online; 10% of the proceeds from the gift card purchases will be donated to the American Nurses Foundation. And throughout the month of May, you can round up your online or app orders to the nearest dollar amount. 100% of those proceeds will go to the foundation.

National Nurses Week 2024: A RN reflects on the state of the profession, calls for change

When is National Nurses Week?

National Nurses Week is observed annually May 6 through May 12.

What is National Nurses Week?

National Nurses Week grew out of a congressional resolution and proclamation signed by President Reagan in 1982 deeming May 6 as a National Recognition Day for Nurses.

The American Nurses Association board of directors expanded this to a National Nurses Week in 1990. The permanent dates for the week were designated in 1993 to be officially observed starting in 1994.

The week includes National School Nurses Day on May 8 and May 12, the birthday of Florence Nightingale, which has been celebrated as International Nurse Day since 1974.

More ways to save: Visit USA TODAY's coupons page for deals from thousands of vendors

National Nurses Week 2024 freebies, deals and discounts

Here's a roundup of freebies, deals, discounts and other specials for National Nurses Week.

• Anthony's Coal Fired Pizza: Nurses get a 20% discount on all orders with a valid ID from Monday, May 6, to Sunday, May 12.
• BurgerFi: Nurses get a 20% discount on all orders with a valid ID from Monday, May 6, to Sunday, May 12.
• Buffalo Wild Wings: From Monday, May 6, to May 12, nurses get 20% off their orders with valid IDs on dine-in, call-in, and walk-in orders.
• Buzz E-Bikes and Huffy Bicycles : Both United Wheels -owned companies give nurses 20% off online purchases year-round when verifying their ID.me at checkout.
• Create Amor: Through June 7, get 25% off orders for scrubs (use the code NURSE25) and $1 per set (top and bottom) will be donated to the American Nurses Foundation. The scrubs brand will also donate 100% of proceeds from each Iris Five Pocket Top sold directly to the foundation.
• Dunkin': Nurses can get a free medium hot or iced coffee, no purchase necessary, on Monday, May 6. (The deal excludes Frozen Coffee, Cold Brew and Nitro Cold Brew. Espresso shots, flavors, dairy alternatives & cold foam may be an additional charge.)
• Firehouse Subs: The sandwich chain has a week of specials available starting Monday through its Firehouse Rewards loyalty program and app including (on Wednesday) BOGO Hook & Ladder Subs and (on Friday) two medium sandwiches for $12 or two large sandwiches for $18.
• Free Rein Coffee Company: Nurses, first responders and medical providers get 20% off all year long from "Yellowstone" star Cole Hauser's brew brand by verifying with ID.me. Also eligible for the 20% discount: military members.
• The Good Feet Store : The retailer, with more than 250 locations, will give nurses a complimentary pair of Architek Comfort Slip-Ons and three pairs of OS1st Comfort socks with the purchase of at least a Good Feet Store 3-Step Arch Support System. (Note: if Architeks are not available, a pair of Brooks running shoes will be provided. Valid nurse's ID is required.)
• The Greene Turtle: All nurses and healthcare workers with a valid ID get a free meal (value of up to $15) on Monday, May 6.
• Happy Joe’ s Pi zza & Ice Cream: Nurses get a 10% discount at participating locations from Monday to Friday, May 6-10.
• honeygrow: Nominate a nursing team for $250 worth of catering from the fast-casual chain with 33 locations in the eastern U.S. Submit your nomination on the honeygrow website before Wednesday, May 8. Five winning teams will be announced on May 10 via honeygrow's social media platforms.
• HTeaO: The iced tea chain will give healthcare personnel 50% off cups of tea from Monday, May 13, to Sunday, May 26, with a valid hospital, doctors office, and school nurse ID.
• Insomnia C ookies: The Philadelphia-based late-night bakery chain with more than 240 locations is giving nurses a free Classic cookie in-store, no purchase necessary, all week beginning Monday, May 6. (Just show a valid ID; availability varies by location.)
• KIND Snacks: Nurses get 15% off their purchases on the website all year long. Customers just verify with ID.me at checkout.
• Landing: The flexible rental firm, with sites especially practical for travel nurses, is giving away prizes including three months' rent. Nurses can enter to win by submitting a 60-second video and others can nominate a nurse, too.
• Logan's Roadhouse: Nurses get 20% off their entrée this week. Just show your badge.
• McAlister’s Deli: Nurses can get free tea – either one big Sweet Tea, Unsweet Tea, ½ Sweet & ½ Unsweet Tea, or ½ Lemonade & ½ Sweet/Unsweet Tea (flavor shots excluded) – at McAlister's Deli from Monday, May 6, to Sunday, May 12, with their badge or ID. Offer valid in-store only; no purchase necessary.
• Moe’s Southwest Grill: Cater a Moe's Southwest Grill meal for nurses from Monday, May 6, to Sunday, May 12, and when you spend $300 or more, get a $50 E-gift card (use code THANKYOU24). Good at participating locations; not valid with other offers or third-party delivery. Doesn't include tax, tip and fees.
• Pancheros: Nurses can buy one entrée and get one free on Wednesday, May 8, at participating restaurants. (Offer good in-restaurant; just present a valid hospital badge at checkout.)
• The Parking Spot: The parking company is giving healthcare workers 25% off parking during their trips; just signup with an associated healthcare email account .
• Peter Piper Pizza : Nurses can get a free personal pizza every day Monday through Friday (May 6-10). Redemption is limited to once per day; valid nurse ID/credentials must be shown.
• Postino: The restaurant chain, with more than 25 locations in five states , will give nurses its $25 Board and Bottle (bruschetta board, plus a bottle of wine) all day every day during the month of May with badge/ID. (The special is usually only available Monday and Tuesday 8 p.m. to closing.)
• Potbelly Sandwich Works: Nurses get a free cookie or fountain drink with the purchase of an entrée by showing their ID Monday, May 6, to Sunday, May 12. Also, all customers can get free delivery on a catering order over $150.
• Salata Salad Kitchen: On Monday, May 6, Healthcare workers get 20% off their order when they present their badge at checkout. Also from Monday to Friday, get 20% off catering orders of $200 or more, and get free delivery on orders through DoorDash.
• Shipley Do-Nuts: Nurses who belong the chain's Do-Happy loyalty program can get a free half-dozen box of glazed do-nuts with any purchase on Monday, May 6.
• Skechers: Nurses get a 10% discount on all styles during the month of May on the Skechers website (valid ID or form of employment required). Online shoppers can also round up the purchase price of May purchases to the nearest dollar with proceeds going to the American Nurses Foundation; donate $5 or more and get $10 off your next $100 purchase in June.
• Smoothie King: Get $2 off your on Monday and Tuesday via Smoothie King’s Healthy Rewards App (use code THANKS2024). The promo code may be used multiple times. Also, Friday, May 3, to Friday, May 10, when you buy $25 or more in gift cards online, get a bonus of 2,000 Healthy Reward points.
• Sockwell: Nurses get a free pair of socks when they buy three pairs at full price May 6-12 on the Sockwell website (excludes closeouts and 3-packs).
• Yogurtland: Through May 14, the frozen yogurt chain is offering free delivery on orders of more than $15 made through the website or mobile app (use the code FREEDELIVERY).
• Zaxby's : Nurses can buy one Boneless Wings Meal and get a second one free on May 7 at participating locations (redeemable through the Zaxby's app or website for Zax Rewardz members, while supplies last).
• Zips Car Wash:  Nurses can get a $5 "Pro" Wash at any Zips Car Wash or Rocket Express location across the country through May 19 with wash code 3687.

Follow Mike Snider on X and Threads:  @mikesnider  & mikegsnider .

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Politics latest: MP defection 'cheap party political point-scoring'; UK and allies 'at a crossroads', Cameron argues

The fallout is continuing from the shock defection of MP Natalie Elphicke from the Conservatives over to Labour. She has now released a statement apologising for supporting her ex-husband, who was her predecessor as MP for Dover, after his sexual assault conviction.

Thursday 9 May 2024 23:03, UK

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• New Labour MP issues apology
• Cameron says defection 'says more about Starmer'
• Analysis: Public will see through 'cheap party political point-scoring' party switch
• Rob Powell: Elphicke apology unlikely to change minds
• Minister insists party 'not trying to chase Reform'
• Ex-chancellor to stand down at election  | Every MP who's quitting
• Live reporting by Ben Bloch and (earlier)  Faith Ridler

Thank you for joining us for another busy day in politics.

Here's what happened:

• Lord Cameron delivered two speeches today in which he called for NATO to make 2.5% of GDP the default defence spending target;
• Prime Minister Rishi Sunak summoned university bosses to Downing Street where he urged them to tackle antisemitism on campuses that has risen by over 200%;
• Labour's new MP Natalie Elphicke apologised for supporting her ex-husband after his sex assault conviction, which has created huge controversy in the Labour Party;
• Former chancellor and vaccines minister, Nadhim Zahawi, announced he will stand down at the next election;
• Newly re-election Tees Valley mayor Ben Houchen hit out at the "chaos" in the Tory party and said responsibility "ultimately lies with Rishi (Sunak)";
• The government triggered emergency plans to be able to hold prisoners in police cells due to a shortage of places in the system - and is blaming it on barristers taking industrial action;
• Interest rates were held at 5.25% in a blow to the PM who wants them to come down ahead of the general election.

Join us again from 6am for the very latest political news.

By  Faye Brown , political reporter

Labour will create a new Border Security Command to tackle people-smuggling gangs bringing migrants across the Channel, Sir Keir Starmer is set to announce.

The "elite" unit, to be part-funded by scrapping the Tories' Rwanda deportation scheme, will be led by a former police, military or intelligence chief and be granted new powers under the Counter Terrorism Act.

These powers will allow officers to conduct stop and searches at the border, carry out financial investigations and issue search and seizure warrants targeting organised immigration crime.

Sir Keir will outline the measures in a speech on the Kent coast on Friday, when he will vow to "replace gimmicks with graft" and draw on his experience as the former head of the Crown Prosecution Service.

Read extracts from Sir Keir's speech below:

The Sky News live poll tracker - collated and updated by our Data and Forensics team - aggregates various surveys to indicate how voters feel about the different political parties.

With the local elections complete, Labour is still sitting comfortably ahead, with the Tories trailing behind.

See the latest update below - and you can read more about the methodology behind the tracker  here .

Lord Cameron has just delivered his second speech of the day - this time at the Lord Mayor's banquet in central London.

Here are the key points of what he said (this post was updated live):

• The foreign secretary opens by saying: "I thought my days of dressing up in white tie and speaking in halls like this were well and truly over, so I want to thank PM Rishi Sunak for bringing me out of retirement";
• He says his six month as the UK's top diplomat "have been every bit a whirlwind as much as being prime minister" - but "not quite as exciting";
• Lord Cameron argues that foreign policy cannot be divorced from economic performance;
• He says movements to "pull up the drawbridge" and retreat into isolationism are "profoundly wrong" - but they cannot be ignored;
• The current dangerous world is "in stark contrast to my first years in politics", he says, and argues we must "face up to that situation";
• "My conviction is that we, with our partners, can choose to make a difference - we have agency. The question is whether we have the courage to use it, the courage to act";
• He says the government is "hardening" defences against attacks on our infrastructure - both physical and cyber following recent attacks;
• The foreign secretary reiterates his call for spending 2.5% of GDP on defence to be the standard NATO benchmark;
• He calls on the allies to join the UK in committing funding to Ukraine until 2030;
• On the Israel-Hamas war, Lord Cameron says he wants the fighting to end now and for the hostages released, but says: "Simply calling for an immediate ceasefire does not make it more likely", arguing that practical steps need to be taken;
• He concludes by saying: "We are at a crossroads: if we make the right choices, if we act now, a bright future awaits, but if we hesitate, our adversaries will write our futures for us";

The foreign secretary is giving his second speech of the day.

Lord Cameron will be donning his white tie at Mansion House for a slightly shorter version of the speech he gave this morning on the UK's foreign policy and national security.

Follow live coverage here in the Politics Hub.

The government has triggered emergency plans to be able to hold prisoners in police cells due to a shortage of places in the system - and is blaming it on barristers taking industrial action.

Operation Safeguard triggers the availability of cells in police stations for prisoners sentenced by the courts when there is a critical shortage of normal spaces.

Sky News understands the Ministry of Justice has formally requested that a limited number of cells be made available.

The government insists that this is "not an unprecedented measure" and has been deployed over four periods since 2006 - and most recently in February and April this year.

A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said the emergency measure "is helping us respond to acute capacity pressures caused in part by barristers' industrial action and the aftermath of the pandemic, while we press ahead with delivering the biggest expansion of prison places in a century including six new jails".

On this episode, Niall Paterson speaks to one of the doctors who worked to restore the hearing of an 18-month-old girl – who was born deaf.

Medics at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge have used gene therapy to help a rare condition, auditory neuropathy. It's caused by the disruption of nerve impulses travelling from the inner ear to the brain.

Opal Sandy can now respond to her parents' voices and can communicate words such as "Dada" and "bye-bye".

Plus, Natalie Elphicke, the MP who defected from the Conservatives to Labour yesterday, apologises for comments she made after her ex-husband, and predecessor as MP for Dover, was convicted of sexual assault in 2020.

She said at the time that being "attractive" and "attracted to women" had made him an "easy target".

Niall talks to deputy political editor Sam Coates about the disquiet within Labour over Mrs Elphicke’s arrival.

👉  Listen above then tap here to follow the Sky News Daily wherever you get your podcasts  👈

In a short while, the foreign secretary is due to give his second speech of the day.

We will have live coverage here on the Politics Hub, so do follow along.

Above: The last time David Cameron addressed a Mansion House audience, just weeks before the Brexit vote and his resignation.

By Jennifer Scott , political reporter

In a dramatic move just moments before Prime Minister's Questions got under way this week, Natalie Elphicke joined Labour as her surprised Conservative colleagues looked on.

What exactly happens when an MP defects to another party?

Ms Elphicke  is far from the first MP to change sides between elections, but it was incredibly rare - until recently - for a member of the governing party to switch to the opposition.

She is the third Tory to do so in just over two years, following  Christian Wakeford in 2022  over the partygate scandal and  Dan Poulter just two weeks ago  over the Tories' handling of the NHS.

Before that, it hadn't happened since 1995, when Alan Howarth became the first ever Conservative to cross to Labour on the eve of his party conference, citing the "divisiveness" of policies under John Major's leadership.

Only three MPs in the past 25 years have gone the other way - from main opposition to government - all leaving the Conservatives to join Labour.

Defecting to smaller parties happens more often, such as moves  from both Conservative and Labour to Change UK  during the Brexit years, or  Douglas Carswell  and  Mark Reckless  heading over to UKIP ahead of the referendum.

By Jenness Mitchell, Scotland reporter

John Swinney has axed the post of minister for independence from his ministerial team.

The role, the first of its kind, was created last year by then first minister Humza Yousaf.

Jamie Hepburn, who previously held the Scottish government post, has now taken over from George Adam as minister for parliamentary business.

Earlier on Thursday, SNP MP Alyn Smith appeared to confirm during a radio interview that the role had been "subsumed" into Angus Robertson's constitution, external affairs and culture brief.

Mr Swinney was  legally sworn in as Scotland's seventh first minister   at the Court of Session in Edinburgh on Wednesday morning.

Read more on the new Scottish cabinet here:

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