Virgin Management has introduced comprehensive fertility support for employees across the UK and Ireland, with sister organisation Virgin Red set to follow suit in March 2022.
The two arms of venture capital giant Virgin Group will both offer discounted fertility treatment alongside a range of related benefits.
The business units, who have about 300 members of staff between them, have partnered with benefits provider Fertifa in recognition of the physical, emotional and financial impact that fertility challenges can have on workers, as well as the knock-on effect on their performance.
All employees will have access to an education programme; unlimited free appointments with a dedicated fertility advisor; and free home-testing kits for themselves and their partners.
The discounted treatments on offer will include IVF, intrauterine insemination, egg freezing, sperm freezing, frozen embryo transfer, genetic testing, and donor eggs and sperm.
Virgin Management and Virgin Red are committed to prioritising employees' ability to thrive both in and out of the workplace. Their gender-neutral approach to family benefits includes policies on adoption, surrogacy and shared parental leave.
Sarah Biggers, people director at Virgin Management, said: “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.”
