UK retailer Next has introduced pregnancy loss policies and practices to support its employees.
Through a partnership with We Seek Care, which provides awareness education, webinars, HR and manager training, and employee-focused aftercare for supporting those experiencing pregnancy loss, miscarriage and abortion in the workplace, Next retail and head office employees will have access to dedicated digital aftercare plan.
Next created the plan in collaboration with fertility and medical experts. Typically lasting eight weeks the plan focuses on improving mental, physical, emotional and social health through education and active practices. Employees can take part in educational webinars and use aftercare plans that contain tools and practices to support their mental and physical health when they return to work.
The training helps managers understand how to best support staff after pregnancy loss, and have difficult conversations using compassionate language.
The plans can be accessed by both male and female employees from home, with partners who experience pregnancy loss, but who are not Next employees, also eligible for the support.
Next partnered with We Seek Care in order to open up conversations around pregnancy loss, miscarriage and abortion in the workplace, ensuring the right support is in place during what can be an emotional and stressful time. It also wanted to empower its organisation as a whole to build an inclusive and supportive workplace.
Claire Kershaw, health and wellbeing manager at Next, said: “At Next we are passionate about the wellbeing support we provide for Next colleagues, we’ve recently introduced support for pregnancy loss, which can be a really challenging and emotional time in someone’s life. We are super excited to be partnered with We Seek Care, experts in this arena, who are guiding us and supporting colleagues across all Next business areas through difficult times.”