International SOS's Dr Laurent Taymans outlines how travel managers can protect vulnerable employees during the coronavirus pandemic without overstepping the boundaries of personal privacy
Covid-19 has generated unprecedented
disruption for businesses across the globe, with the way many businesses
operate fundamentally changing. This is particularly the case for organisations
which, before the pandemic, often utilised international business travel to
create and maintain partnerships around the world.
In recent months this activity
has simply stopped, as national governments have imposed strict restrictions on
cross-border travel in an effort to halt the spread of the virus. Given we are
starting to see the lifting of some of these restrictions, it is understandable
that more businesses are looking to resume international travel.
It is vital that this process is
managed carefully – businesses need to ensure that the return to travel is safe
for their employees, as the risks associated with coronavirus are clearly still
present in many regions.
Organisations need to consider medical
risks when making plans around who exactly would be travelling, along with what
country they are travelling to. It is the employer’s responsibility to make
available to employees the most up-to-date information related to the medical
and security profiles of their workplaces across the world.
Employers also have a responsibility
to ensure that they actively update their employees with the latest information
relating to their location of travel and, most importantly, to ensure that
there is a mechanism in place to keep employees appraised of any dynamic
changes.
Organisations should take steps
to protect employees and ensure that they are not exposed to an unacceptable
level of personal risk. For example, an individual with a weakened immune
system should probably be avoiding all travel at the moment.
This personal risk level should
incorporate various factors, alongside the Covid-19 profile of the region employees
would be travelling to – balancing all these considerations is key when it
comes to making sure employees are not exposed to a high level of risk.
Protecting employees based on
their personal risk can be a complex and sensitive process to manage, as
essential data might not always be freely available. Many parts of the world have
strict data privacy and confidentiality laws regarding personal medical
information.
Organisations need to navigate this complexity making sure
they only obtain access to such information with the consent of their employees
and that they meet their obligations when using, storing or disclosing such
information under applicable regulations.
Thankfully, there is a possible consideration to these confidentiality
rules, as organisations could consider voluntary disclosure by employees to
enable them to make sound decisions regarding business travel.
One consideration to keep in mind
is that there may be hesitations by employees in disclosing any medical conditions
they, or their household companions, may have in fear of the consequences resulting
from their declarations. Employers need to have an internal mechanism in place
that provides assurances that there will not be job-related consequences as a
result of employees’ declarations.
They also need to consider what
happens when employees do not wish to disclose their medical information to the
employer – what are the options for employees? What are the local health
regulations? All of this needs to be considered in organisations’ internal
policies.
Generally, the self-assessment
process itself involves an employee reporting their medical conditions to an
employer, who then gives the employee a particular status which informs
decisions regarding if it is safe to allow the individual to travel.
Given certain conditions are
known to bring higher risks when it comes to Covid-19 (diabetes, cardiovascular
and lung conditions in particular) it quickly becomes clear which employees
should refrain from resuming travel.
Making sure that organisations
are shielding potentially vulnerable employees is a crucially important part of
this, but this needs to be balanced with privacy considerations. Employees have
the right to maintain privacy regarding their medical conditions and this
should not be ignored. Employees with vulnerable immune systems should not be
discriminated against.
On the flip side, employees must
also fulfil their duty of loyalty, ensuring that they engage in safe behaviour
while travelling outside the workplace. Failing to do so potentially
compromises the company’s efforts. Education and raising awareness are
essential for this to be successful.
Companies should finally take
steps to ensure that their employees have the psychological support they
require, as returning to international travel may be very stressful for some
employees and it needs to be managed carefully.
According to our own recent
research, organisations are anticipating that in the next 12 months, employee
mental health issues are likely to become more prominent, with more than one-fifth
of respondents fearing that these will have a tangible negative impact on
business continuity.
Clearly, mental health issues
need to be considered, as businesses should understand that they are a normal
part of life and one which may have been potentially exacerbated by the
stresses caused by Covid-19.
As travel restrictions are lifting
across the globe, more and more companies will soon have employees in the air
traveling to different countries. Since coronavirus is still very much a
concern in many countries, the resumption of international business travel is a
process which requires a high level of planning.
Ultimately, organisations should
take steps to shield employees most at risk, understanding that personal
medical information is key for this, whilst at the same time appreciating that
this information is highly sensitive and must only be gained with employee
consent.
If this occurs, the process of
getting people travelling again will be a lot smoother, as organisations will
be able to understand their employees’ risk profile and can take steps to
ensure that those travelling are not vulnerable. In essence, this is a shared
responsibility between employers and their greatest assets, their employees.