Duty of Care

If roles flipped, reasonable protection from harm is the bar owed to people under you.

Key Concept

• Duty of care owes people the protection you would expect if roles were reversed - not the minimum the handbook allows.
• Level 1: Treat people how you would want in their seat - not the handbook minimum, like holding a door.
• Level 2: Duty of care is like reversing the camera before you sign off on risk - what protection would you expect in their seat?
• Level 3: Because teams copy what leaders tolerate, the standard you enforce in the room becomes the real floor, not the poster on the wall.
• Level 4: Before you sign off on a risk, ask what protection you would expect if you were in their seat - handbook minimum is not the target.
• Level 5: Stop serious harm first - reasonable protection is not optional just because paperwork allows less; Ethical Leadership makes the visible floor match what you would accept reversed.
• Duty of care is the legal and moral floor, not a target to hit exactly and stop.
• Stop serious harm first; reasonable protection is not optional because paperwork says so.

Examples

• The clinic keeps a crash cart checked every shift - staff assuming risk does not erase the charge nurse's job of reasonable protection.
• We do not leave the toddler pool gate open because the kids know not to run - duty of care is watching even when signs say be careful.

Note Relationships