Two-thirds of employers do not offer reproductive care benefits

reproductive care benefitsEmployee Benefits poll: Almost two-thirds (62.5%) of organisations do not offer any kind of reproductive care benefits, according to a survey of Employee Benefits readers.

Almost two in 10 (18.75%) offer their workforce adoption support and 12.5% provide IVF support. Meanwhile, 6.25% offer more than one of the above options and no one answered that they offer either egg freezing or surrogacy support.

Last month, Employee Benefits reported that two-thirds (67%) of employers do not currently have a fertility treatment policy in place, according to research by charity Pregnant Then Screwed.

Its survey of 260 HR managers also found that just 10% are happy with the support they offer to employees undergoing fertility treatment and 14% are satisfied with how they support employees facing pregnancy loss.

Furthermore, just one in ten (10%) said they provide resources and training to line managers to help them manage reproductive health issues in the workplace.

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Joeli Brearley, chief executive officer and founder of Pregnant Then Screwed, said: “This research has shown the many gaps in policies in workplaces today that are penalising mothers. If [employers] do not have a policy in place to protect women when they are at their most vulnerable, then [they] are not properly supporting women at all.

“A lack of flexible working is bad for business and bad for inclusivity. We need to re-write the playbook, and that starts with policies and support systems that are breathed into the culture to protect staff in key life moments.”