Duty of Care in Society versus Duty of Care at Work

"Duty of Care" at work and "Duty of care" in society are not quite the same thing.

While the actions of employees at work can have significant impacts, not only on their own safety but also on the well-being of their colleagues, it is the overall duty of the business they work for to have and operate a management system that ensures that employees are given instruction and training on how to use machinery and tools, and are supervised to do their work safely.

In our Society there is an obligation under Civil law for persons to demonstrate a duty of care in certain events or occasions including towards complete strangers. This post will examine these two responsibilities and how they are similar, yet different.

Understanding Individual Duty of Care

Individual duty of care involves the moral and legal obligation every person has to prevent harm to others. It's more than just "thou shalt not murder." It also includes a duty in social situations to render assistance to persons who are in danger or have been in an accident, even if the person in trouble is a complete stranger.

In emergency situations, individuals must weigh their good intentions against potential risks. The basis of determination is "what would a reasonable person do?" For example, if a person at the beach saw another person in deep water who was in trouble, but could not themselves swim, it would be unreasonable to expect them to go in the water and try and rescue them. Obviously, there is the risk that both people may drown. What would be reasonable would be for the person on shore to go to the Lifeguard station and inform the professionals. The Lifeguards could then act, if they weren't already in the process of conducting a rescue.

Understanding Business Duty of Care

In commercial undertakings, all businesses are required by Law to have and operate a WHS management system designed to ensure a safe working environment. These systems include policies, procedures, and processes that guide organizations in complying with health and safety laws and ensure that employees to their jobs safely. This is called "primary duty of care" and applies to every company, corporation, or organisation. Business owners, Directors, and CEOs must ensure those systems exist and are managed.

While this primary duty of care rests fully and only with the organisation itself, employees too have duties: to take reasonable care of their own health and safety and that of their co-workers, and to reasonably comply with instructions and supervision from their managers and supervisors.

The Intersection of Individual Duty of Care and Corporate Duty of Care

If you are involved in an accident or happen to be in a situation where someone is in danger and you are in a position to help, you have a civil obligation to render assistance. This is a "duty of care" that applies to every individual in our civilized society. That doesn't mean you go in blindly to help. One has to assess the situation and the risks. This would be expected of any "reasonable human being." There is a balance.

At work, as part of "taking reasonable care", an employee must intervene if they see another employee doing something unsafe or if they notice something about to happen that might put themselves and/or their colleagues in harm's way. You would expect this of a "reasonable human being."

In the event of a workplace incident or fatality, all eyes will be on the directors. It is their job to ensure the business has measures, procedures, and controls in place for managed risks, and that there are supervisors and managers to manage workers to do their jobs safely. In the courts it is always the directors that get fined and sent to jail. Workplace fatalities usually mean there is a poor WHS management system. There is no excuse for that in 2025.

For more information on WHS training or WHS compliance services, or if you would like help to make your WHS management system even more robust, please feel free to contact us at train@courtenell.com.au or phone us on 02 9552 2066.