Youth publishing business LadBible Group, which employs approximately 350 people across six international offices, has introduced an abortion policy for its global workforce.
The policy includes 10 days of annual leave in order to access and recover from an abortion procedure, in addition to a travel allowance of up to $10,000 (£8368.90) to cover travel costs if the employee lives in a location where abortions are banned.
The policy will be available to all full and part-time permanent and fixed-term LadBible employees.
In addition, the publisher has committed to providing employees with access to resources in relation to abortion procedures.
This followed the launch of LadBible's external 'Summer of Love' campaign, which aimed to educate its audience on abortion rights, both in the US and internationally, while helping to reduce the stigma around discussing the procedure. The campaign unearthed, for example, that only 14% of its audience were aware that in Northern Ireland, despite the decriminalisation of abortion, two GPs must approve the procedure.
Sinead Allchurch, HR director at LadBible, said: “It’s important to us that all employees feel supported through situations which may be personally challenging and difficult. We believe that everyone has the right to make decisions in relation to their body, health and have access to comprehensive healthcare.”
Solly Solomou, group CEO and founder of LadBible, added: “As our company grows on a global scale, with the expansion into the US this year and a 45% increase in employees year on year, we're always looking at new policies to ensure we are reflecting the needs of everyone and show that as an employer, we will always support them."
LadBible's is the most recent in a string of similar abortion policies that have emerged since the controversial overturn of Roe v Wade by the US Supreme Court. For example, Google has announced its support for employees moving inter-state to access the procedure, and Amazon committed to reimburse employees up to $4,000 (£3,196.56) for travel and other costs.
