--- title: "Duty of care" description: "Duty of care is an employer's responsibility to protect traveling employees. What it covers, where the legal side comes from and what to check before a trip." canonical: https://engine.com/glossary/duty-of-care updated: 2026-11-02 author: "Engine Editorial" --- # Duty of care Duty of care is an organization's moral responsibility or legal requirement to protect the people it sends on work travel from hazards and threats. Also called: business travel duty of care Not to be confused with: travel insurance Updated November 2, 2026 by Engine Editorial ## What is duty of care in business travel? Duty of care is the responsibility an organization has to keep its travelers safe from hazards and threats on work trips. This cheat sheet covers how to think about it and what to check before people travel. The detail is further down. ### How to think about it - **It's moral and legal.** The ISO travel risk standard defines it as a moral responsibility or legal requirement. The legal side can arise from negligence, contract and statute. - **Domestic trips count.** The standard covers domestic and international travel. Travelers in either can face road accidents, disease outbreaks and natural disasters. - **Insurance supports it.** Travel insurance covers specific financial risks like medical emergencies or trip cancellations. It doesn't replace the broader obligation to protect employees before, during and after a trip. - **Travelers share the job.** An employer may be held liable for what employees do while traveling on company business, so clear rules on behavior during work trips help reduce risk. ### What to check before people travel - **A destination risk assessment.** Assess specific dangers before booking, such as high crime rates, natural disasters or regional health issues. - **Emergency contacts.** Give every traveler emergency contact information, and keep traveler contact details current. - **Insurance, communicated.** Verify travel insurance coverage and tell travelers what it is. - **Bookings in one place.** Free-for-all bookings miss duty-of-care visibility. Book through approved channels so you can see who is where. - **Legal advice.** ISO 31030 recommends asking a competent legal adviser about the scope and nature of your own duty of care. ## How it works on Engine Once [Duty of Care](https://engine.com/features/duty-of-care) is activated, the Safety page in Trips shows active and upcoming Engine-booked itineraries, traveler contacts, destinations and safety-flagged bookings, and admins can filter by severity, traveler or location. Risk alerts come from an International SOS feed covering weather, political unrest, transit disruption and emergencies, and admins and travelers opt in to them. The view is based on booked itineraries, not live device location. Companies keep their own emergency contacts and response procedures. ## See where your travelers are booked Engine's Safety page shows active and upcoming Engine-booked trips, with opt-in risk alerts informed by International SOS. Free to use. [Get started](https://engine.com/sign-up) ## Questions ### Is duty of care a legal requirement? It can be. ISO 31030 notes that the legal side can arise from negligence, contract and statute, that requirements differ between jurisdictions and that they may not be absolute. It recommends getting advice from a competent legal adviser. ### Does duty of care apply to domestic travel? Yes. ISO 31030 defines travel as movement on behalf of an organization that comes within its duty of care, and notes that the movement can be domestic or international. ### What's the difference between duty of care and travel insurance? Duty of care is the ongoing responsibility to protect employees before, during and after business travel. Travel insurance covers specific financial risks like medical emergencies or trip cancellations, and supports that obligation without replacing it. ### What should a duty of care section in a travel policy cover? Who travelers contact in an emergency, where their itinerary is registered, insurance coverage, high-risk destination protocols, incident reporting and mental-health support during long or stressful travel. Of 25 published travel policies Engine reviewed, 88% include a duty-of-care section. ## Go deeper - [Engine Duty of Care](https://engine.com/features/duty-of-care) - [Duty of care policy guide and safety checklist](https://engine.com/blog/duty-care-business-travel) - [Travel risk management](https://engine.com/glossary/travel-risk-management) - [Travel insurance](https://engine.com/glossary/travel-insurance) ## Sources 1. ISO, via iTeh Standards, "ISO 31030:2021 Travel risk management: Guidance for organizations (preview)," https://cdn.standards.iteh.ai/samples/54204/57ffd93dca4a4928ae191cc8f5fd9b44/ISO-31030-2021.pdf, accessed November 2, 2026. 2. ISO/TC 262, "ISO 31030:2021 Managing Travel Risks: Guidance for organizations," https://committee.iso.org/sites/tc262/home/projects/published/iso-310302021----managing-travel.html, accessed November 2, 2026. 3. Engine, "Duty of Care Travel Management: Policy Guide and Safety Checklist," https://engine.com/blog/duty-care-business-travel, accessed November 2, 2026. 4. Engine, "Corporate Travel Policy Template," https://engine.com/templates/corporate-travel-policy-template, accessed November 2, 2026. 5. Engine, "Duty of Care for Business Travelers," https://engine.com/features/duty-of-care, accessed November 2, 2026.