A couple of weeks ago, Living Abroad and KPMG hosted a panel discussion for the Forum for Expatriate Management’s NYC Chapter on protecting your workforce worldwide. The session brought together two corporate panelists and a representative from International SOS. One comment really resonated: “It’s always good to plan ahead.”
Duty of Care is a company’s legal and ethical responsibility to ensure the health, safety, and wellbeing of employees, especially those working abroad. It’s not just about reacting to crises; it’s about creating systems and support structures that prevent problems before they happen.
While we often hear about Duty of Care in the context of emergencies, I want to share some positive examples of how companies protect their employees through thoughtful planning.
When Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, we saw some truly inspiring responses from companies who put their people first. Wix helped 500 Ukraine-based employees and their families get to safety, paying salaries in advance and providing essentials like food and cash.
Specialized security firms like Global Guardian evacuated over 6,500 people, working with companies that had emergency plans ready to go and acting quickly when they sensed trouble brewing.
Not every success story involves dramatic evacuations. Sometimes the best outcomes come from steady, smart planning. Back in 2019, a global offshore energy company faced a costly problem: employees with uncontrolled health conditions, like hypertension and diabetes, had to be evacuated from offshore platforms for medical treatment, creating operational disruptions and major financial losses.
They partnered with International SOS to implement pre-deployment health screenings, on-platform medical staffing, and ongoing clinical oversight. The results? By 2024, they had eliminated medical evacuations entirely, saving close to seven figures annually while keeping their workforce healthier.
Now that’s Duty of Care done right: taking care of problems before they ever become emergencies.
The best Duty of Care outcomes share common strategies:
- Preparation before crisis with plans and partnerships already established.
- Clear communication so employees know who to contact and what to do.
- Comprehensive support including financial assistance and family considerations.
- Intelligence monitoring to act on early warning signs.
Duty of Care isn’t just a legal obligation, it’s an opportunity to demonstrate your company’s values. The companies that excel don’t wait for disasters; they prepare for them. And when crisis is met by preparation, employees get home safely, families stay together, and everyone remembers that their employer had their back when it mattered most.
As we learned from Jeremy Prout of International SOS: The best emergency response is the one you don’t need to engage because of good planning.
