Employee Benefits poll: Almost two-thirds (62.5%) of organisations do not offer any kind of reproductive care benefits, according to a survey of Employee Benefits readers.
Almost two in 10 (18.75%) offer their workforce adoption support and 12.5% provide IVF support. Meanwhile, 6.25% offer more than one of the above options and no one answered that they offer either egg freezing or surrogacy support.
Last month, Employee Benefits reported that two-thirds (67%) of employers do not currently have a fertility treatment policy in place, according to research by charity Pregnant Then Screwed.
Its survey of 260 HR managers also found that just 10% are happy with the support they offer to employees undergoing fertility treatment and 14% are satisfied with how they support employees facing pregnancy loss.
Furthermore, just one in ten (10%) said they provide resources and training to line managers to help them manage reproductive health issues in the workplace.
Joeli Brearley, chief executive officer and founder of Pregnant Then Screwed, said: “This research has shown the many gaps in policies in workplaces today that are penalising mothers. If [employers] do not have a policy in place to protect women when they are at their most vulnerable, then [they] are not properly supporting women at all.
“A lack of flexible working is bad for business and bad for inclusivity. We need to re-write the playbook, and that starts with policies and support systems that are breathed into the culture to protect staff in key life moments.”
