Evacuating an Expatriate Employee: The Employer's Role

An employer's responsibility does not stop at the border

When a company sends employees abroad, on a mission or an expatriation, it remains responsible for their safety and health. In many countries, including France, the employer has a general safety obligation toward employees. When a serious illness or an accident happens in a remote place, the question is not only medical: it is also organizational, financial and human. A company that has prepared for it reacts in hours instead of days.

Before: prepare the ground

• Check the assistance contract. Does it cover medical evacuation and repatriation, in which countries, for which risks, with which exclusions? Does it cover the family who live with the employee?
• Brief the employee. Before departure, give the assistance phone number, the contract number and the instructions: call the assistance company first, before committing to expenses.
• Plan the medical information. With the employee's consent, make sure that the essential medical information, such as allergies and chronic treatments, can be given quickly to the doctors when needed. Medical data are confidential and must stay in the hands of the occupational physician or the assistance doctors.
• Name a contact. Designate in the company a person who can be reached at any hour, who knows the procedure and who can make decisions.
• Assess the destination. Know the local medical facilities and the distance to the nearest adequate hospital, to anticipate the need for an evacuation.

On the day: what the employer does

1. Call the assistance company. Give the facts and the contract reference. The assistance doctors will talk to the treating physician and decide on the transfer.
2. Inform the family. Do it quickly and humanely, ideally by one person, and give a number to call.
3. Support the logistics. Help with the passport, the visas, the luggage, and with the travel of a relative if the medical team agrees.
4. Protect confidentiality. Share the medical information only with those who need it. Colleagues and the press do not need details.
5. Keep a log. Note the times, the names and the decisions. It will be useful for the insurer and for the company's own review.

During: what the employer should not do

• Do not delay the call to the assistance company to "wait and see".
• Do not impose a decision on the doctors: the transfer is decided on medical grounds.
• Do not commit large expenses before the assistance company has confirmed what it covers, unless the care requires it.
• Do not communicate on the case outside the circle of people who need to know.

After: the return and the follow-up

When the employee is back, the company can organize the follow-up: medical leave, the link with the occupational physician, the question of a return to the post or to the country, and support for the family. It is also the right moment to review what worked and what did not, and to adjust the contract, the briefing and the procedure.

How we can help

We are a coordinator: our team works with the company, the assistance company and the treating hospital, and organizes the transfer with partner air ambulance operators. Our coordinating physician gives an opinion on the transport best adapted to the patient, and we provide the documents that the company or its insurer may ask for. See our page for insurers and assistance companies.

In short

• The employer's responsibility includes health abroad, and the preparation matters more than the reaction.
• Check the contract, brief the employee, name a contact.
• On the day: call the assistance company first, inform the family, protect confidentiality.
• After the return, organize the follow-up and review the procedure.

To go further, read who decides on a medical repatriation and which documents to prepare.

General information only — not personalized medical, legal or insurance advice. Your insurance contract and the treating physician's opinion prevail in your situation.