A survey has revealed a serious lack of awareness among companies of their duties towards staff on international assignments.
Those emerging markets that are a chief focus of business interest by Western companies are seen as among the countries most at risk of disease, terrorism and riots
The BRIC states – Brazil, Russia, India and China – are all high in a list of potentially hazardous countries.
Mexico was rated the highest risk location in a survey by International SOS, the medical assistance and security company. It surveyed more than 600 global companies, 95 per cent of which sent employees to high-risk locations.
Among threats faced were lawlessness, terrorism, political upheaval, civil unrest and pandemics.
A spokesman for International SOS, which operates for insurers such as market leader Bupa International and many other UK-based providers, said the survey pointed to an alarming lack of awareness among employers of their responsibilities towards staff on foreign assignment.
A high proportion of respondent companies – one third – did not know whether they had legal requirements for a duty of care provision.
The spokesman said: “This was a particular concern as a company can be held criminally responsible for harm to employees or their dependants in high risk locations abroad, should the risk result from a failure of duty of care in UK.”
Four of the identified top 10 risks were related to health issues, including illness, lack of access to western standards of medical care, infectious diseases and travel-related infections.
Despite the legal implications and medical costs involved in taking care of incidents, companies still perceived duty of care as primarily an ethical concern. Caring about the health, safety, and security of travelling employees and doing the right thing were both more popular considerations in upholding a duty of care than avoiding legal repercussions.
Arnaud Vaissié, chairman and chief executive of International SOS, said duty of care was essential for commercial success as well as avoiding high-cost legal settlements. However, awareness as to duty of care varied.
“The study highlights the need for companies to focus on the best ways to pre-emptively protect their employees and – through them – their businesses,” he said.
The study also identified discrepancies in the types of issues that are most concerning for particular industries. The IT sector had pronounced concerns around opportunistic crime, illness while on assignment, road accidents and travel delays.
The construction and real estate sector was mainly worried about lawlessness, violent crime and organised crime. The energy and natural resource sector was concerned about remoteness of work locations, language and cultural estrangement, and road accidents.
Companies in the aerospace and defence were ranked most highly for their approach to duty of care. Companies in natural resources and energy were also ranked well. Least aware sectors were education, construction and property.
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