A new free legal helpline to assist travel managers on the new law in Britain on corporate manslaughter has been set up by the Institute of Travel Management (ITM).
The Institute said many British companies were exposing themselves to "significant risk" from the provisions of the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act.
This new law, which came into force in July, created a new offence of corporate manslaughter.
Any company whose senior executives mismanage its affairs so as to cause the death of an employee and this mismanagement amounts to gross negligence of its duty of care, it would be guilty of the new offence.
A survey by ITM found that fewer than 10% of travel managers questioned fully understood the implications of the new Act even though they were responsible for traveller safety.
The poll of the 160 travel managers and procurement heads found they were more focused on the safety of the traveller than on the risk to the company.
Paul Tilstone, ITM's executive director, said: "It should be a matter of grave concern in Britain's boardrooms that fewer than a third of organisations have a process for risk assessment in place in all but areas of the world designated high risk.
"Fortunately, a further third plan to introduce risk assessments for all overseas trips over the next 12 months.
“The forthcoming launch of our legal helpline will help by providing vital knowledge to our members who are responsible for their companies' travel policies.”
"Over 40% of companies now recommend that travellers are driven home or to the office after a long haul flight.
"However, 79% of companies do not require employees to sign that that they have read and understand the company's travel policy, thereby creating grounds for a potential legal challenge should something go wrong."