Duty of Care spells out responsibilities an organization has for its people. This includes making the workplace safe, preventing risks to health, and ensuring safe working practices are set up and followed. There is a lot to deal with between these areas and the onus is on a variety of managers to ensure nothing falls between those cracks.
Policies and the procedures to implement them provide clarity to everyone involved regarding accountability issues or activities of critical importance to an organization, such as health and safety, regulatory requirements, legal liabilities, or other issues that may have serious consequences.