Employee Benefits poll: Two-thirds of employers now either offer or are considering offering fertility support to their employees.
Fertility support can encompass things such as discounts on private fertility treatments, access to education, tests or specialists, or extra paid time off work.
Just over 31% of respondents to an online survey said they already offered such support to their employees.
A further third, however, (just under 36%) said they were considering going down this route. A third again, slightly under 34%, said they did not offer fertility support.
Fertility support has been growing in popularity as a health-based employee benefit for some time, especially in the US. It is also gaining momentum in the UK, as Employee Benefits has been reporting.
In February, for example, Virgin Management announced that it was introducing comprehensive fertility support for its UK and Ireland employees, with its sister organisation, Virgin Red, set to have followed suit this month.
The move means the 300 employees across the two business units will now have access to an education programme, unlimited free appointments with a dedicated fertility advisor, free home-testing kits, and discounts on treatments including IVF, intrauterine insemination, egg freezing, sperm freezing, frozen embryo transfer, genetic testing, and donor eggs and sperm.
Sarah Biggers, people director at Virgin Management, said at the time: “We can already see the impact that increasingly more open conversations about fertility taking place across the business are having.
“The uncertainty around fertility can be both physically and mentally draining, impacting our employees’ ability to thrive both inside and outside of work. This is a major priority of ours, and so I am happy we can support our people in this way.”
Equally, Burnley-based criminal justice charity The Calico Group introduced fertility support provision for its employees in December.
This included offering 10 days of paid special leave for employees affected by pregnancy loss or fertility treatment, and flexible arrangements for employees going through the menopause.