What should your fertility policy include for employees?

It‘s known that fertility struggles can affect an individual’s personal and professional life, with many employees feeling unable to perform at work and often unwilling to confide in their managers about it.?

We at Hertility believe that a fertility policy should be designed with your employees' needs in mind. One of the most overwhelming parts of a fertility journey can be the mass of information available to people from various sources. A comprehensive fertility policy will not only outline the support available in the workplace but also provide employees with a baseline knowledge of infertility, its causes, and the different treatment options. It may include helpful links to specialist providers like Hertility or external organisations who provide support like Tommy’s .?

There are also practical aspects which every fertility policy should have, such as financial support to help those who may not have qualified for NHS-funded treatment. Other practical elements should include providing flexible leave for appointments and perhaps training an internal fertility champion, an employee who is well-versed in the policy and can point people in the right direction for further support. Lastly, a fertility policy should be inclusive and supportive of all pathways to parenthood.

Supporting employees throughout their fertility journey is imperative. It is crucial to provide support at all stages of the journey. However, we work with forward-thinking companies to ensure employers can provide their employees with the opportunity to be proactive when it comes to their fertility.

Here are some ways employers can offer support:?

1. Offering your employees #proactivefertilitytesting through a company like Hertility will help provide answers about their #fertility and #reproductivehealth to put them in control of their fertility journey. Through providers like Hertility, employers can help more and more people avoid the need for invasive treatment, increase treatment success and streamline their employees’ access to specialist fertility care.?
2. The journey to starting a family can be difficult if the individual or couple is experiencing fertility issues. Therefore, providing #mentalhealthsupport is a cornerstone of any comprehensive fertility policy. Fertility counsellors are there to give people confidential, objective, non-judgemental support at every stage of their fertility journey.?
3. #Education & training are essential to a fertility benefits policy. Not only does it help employees going through their own fertility journey to feel equipped with the right tools, but it also means that other employees within your workforce are mindful of the ups and downs their fellow staff could experience, creating a more supportive workplace environment.?
4. Employers may choose to provide #financialassistance to support employees on their fertility journeys. This will alleviate the stress on employees who cannot access NHS-funded fertility care and who otherwise may not be able to afford it. Employers can also choose to provide equitable funding opportunities, i.e. funding towards sperm or egg freezing for single people or those transitioning, donor conception for same-sex couples or heterosexual couples, IUI and IVF.?
5. A final way to help employees is through a comprehensive, flexible #fertilityleavepolicy . One which is inclusive of not only the person going through fertility treatment but also those employees who might be supporting a partner undergoing fertility treatment.?

We’ve seen fertility benefits experience a monumental shift in the last ten years. Until recently, offering financial support for IVF treatment or egg freezing was seen as trailblazing, but we’re now seeing employers shift their approach to a more holistic one that extends beyond a financial solution to a more inclusive offering, one that includes mental health support, physical adjustments and education opportunities.?

It’s also shifting for fertility to no longer be viewed as an isolated event and therefore benefit. Fertility is one potential stage in an employee’s reproductive life, but forward-thinking employers who aim to support employees across every life stage will begin to see women in positions at each level in their organisations. Companies like Hertility mean that employees are empowered to proactively take control of their reproductive health, no matter which life stage or where they are on the corporate ladder.