CHRO
interview
IMAGINE HOW YOUR EMPLOYEES FEEL SAP Concur’s regional sales director Angelique Montalto explains why organisations’ duty of care is elevated during times of crisis.
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BY ANGELIQUE MONTALTO
e are all experiencing and embracing new challenges as we navigate the current climate of social and economic uncertainty. Globally, one and all we need to adapt to the new accepted norm of remote working and in more severe instances, a total lockdown of business as usual. Organisations owe it to their employees to keep them safe either while working remotely or travelling on official company business. In times of major disruption or heightened risk, companies need to take all necessary measures to ensure they can meet the necessary duty-of-care obligations and keep their employees informed and away from harm while they are operating on behalf of the organisation.
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What is duty of care? Duty of care refers to a company’s moral and legal responsibility to care for the well-being of its employees during the course of business. This has clear implications for things like workplace culture, employee well-being, company benefits and other aspects guiding employee safety during the performance of their work duties – whether at the office, working remotely or travelling. In South Africa, employer duty-of-care obligations are guided by statutory requirements mainly under the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA). In terms of the OHSA, the CEO of every employer is liable for contraventions of the OHSA, and can be fined or criminally convicted if found negligent. Importantly, while the OHSA refers specifically to ‘the workplace’, that workplace can be anywhere
