Major gap revealed in workplace policies on women’s health

A national survey found that UK employers do not provide adequate workplace policies to support women’s reproductive health needs. As noted in the government’s recent Vision for Women’s Health Strategy, the UK has suffered from gender inequalities in health for decades, and the survey found that many respondents either did not have specific workplace policies to support miscarriage, or did not embrace them were aware of menopause or infertility.

Covid has quickly focused on HR and trends towards improved perks and support for employees’ mental and physical health, with the provision of improved training and perks for employees and many large companies making noise in this area, but this does not appear to be the case the case being extended to women’s health. The results showed that more than half of employers (48%) have no official policy to support workers undergoing IVF treatment, although one in six now needs the help of a fertility specialist to get pregnant and only 4 % of employers provide appropriate training for HR managers or line managers.

Only 12% of surveyed workers who faced a miscarriage were granted time off because of a miscarriage before it becomes a statutory maternity right at 24 weeks. Over 60% of women said they would be uncomfortable speaking to a line manager or supervisor when menopausal symptoms were interfering with their job performance, and nearly 90% of employers did not provide women with any menopause guidelines at all – shocking when you think about it A study in 2019 found that 14 million working days were lost each year in the UK due to menopausal symptoms.

The survey* to examine both the policies and culture of how employers address women’s fertility and health in the workplace. The survey collected both quantitative and qualitative data on the state of UK workplace policy for those with reproductive health issues.

As the Department of Health develops a strategy to improve women’s health outcomes, Dr. Geeta Nargund, Medical Director at CREATE Fertility and Senior NHS Advisor, calling for support for women in the workplace throughout their life events, from menstruation to menopause, to promote their health and well-being and to help bridge the gap between women and men closing genders.

Their calls to action include:

• Training on reproductive and women’s health issues for HR staff and line managers
• Supporting women on their fertility journey with paid leave and partial funding
• Workplace strategies and flexibility to support women with menopausal symptoms

Fertility treatment: overlooked – Survey results make it clear that despite over 53,000 patients undergoing IVF in the UK each year (HFEA data 2019), fertility issues are largely ignored. Only 20% of respondents are offered paid leave for IVF and only 16% have been offered flexible working when they need time off for appointments or to recover from treatment, showing that despite some larger brands and professional service companies recently improving fertility policies have announced, the reality is that most employers fall far behind the curve when it comes to providing adequate support to those in treatment. Less than 3% of respondents were offered a reduction in hours or duties during IVF treatment, a statistic supported by a range of qualitative responses that showed individuals are forced to rely on their annual leave to get appointments fulfill, or feel compelled to return to work immediately after procedures, despite the emotional and physical strain.

Pregnancy loss: largely ignored – A miscarriage is a devastating loss at any point during pregnancy and can cause great distress to both women and their partners. Currently, an abortion that occurs after 24 weeks is legally granted time off as part of their maternity rights, but only 12% of women were aware of any measures that covered an abortion, such as paid leave or counseling, before that point. Another 44% were unsure if there are any guidelines and noted a lack of an inclusive culture when it comes to discussing these issues in the workplace.

Lack of training and conversation – The survey also found that only 4% of employers offered some form of training for HR managers or supervisors to familiarize them with the emotional and physical challenges an employee might face during IVF. Respondents reported many experiences of not feeling able to share their fertility treatment journey with managers, or when they did, not receiving a clear understanding of what support or time out might be needed, leading to feelings of loneliness and isolation at an already difficult time. Encouragingly, 65% of respondents said they are happy to tell their employer they are undergoing IVF treatment, suggesting there has been a cultural shift in employers’ attitudes towards sharing fertility issues, even if not through Guidelines and formalities are reached support.

Menopause: neither seen nor heard – For a phenomenon that affects around 50% of the population, the survey in the HR section reports alarmingly little preoccupation with menopausal symptoms. Only 12% of respondents had a menopause policy or HR clause at work and a further 40% responded that they would not like to talk about symptoms affecting performance at work. These responses demonstrate the misalignment of the scale of these issues and the existing policies for addressing them, such that women feel they are issues they simply have to come to terms with and withstand.

dr Commenting on the results, Geeta Nargund said: “Infertility is defined as a disease by the World Health Organization, but as our survey shows, it is not viewed in the same way as other basic medical problems. The number of women and couples using IVF continues to increase and for same-sex couples or single women, fertility treatment is often essential to starting a family. I would like to see more employers adopt official policies to support women undergoing fertility treatments such as IVF that involve multiple visits to fertility clinics to reduce their treatment burden. To address this and all of the women’s health issues raised in our survey, it is vital that all employers and HR professionals put in place dedicated training to support their employees, including ensuring they feel they are reaching out to their employer and can talk to him about their experiences and needs. More support is needed, for example to ensure that sufficient flexibility is introduced to allow them to make important appointments.”

Louisa Symington-Mills, Founder and CEO of Cityparents added, “Focused on attracting and retaining the best talent, forward-thinking employers clearly recognize the need to support their employees’ personal lives as well as their professional careers. This research sheds an important spotlight on women’s health challenges and while some results are encouraging, it is clear that much progress is still needed in terms of the day-to-day practical and emotional support workers need on their journey to parenthood.”

Gwenda Burns, Chief Executive of leading patient-centred charity Fertility Network UK, commented: “Our research as a national charity shows that most people with fertility issues are reluctant to speak to their employer about it, fearing it could be detrimental to their career . We know that too many are reducing their hours, taking sick leave or leaving their jobs because of their fertility issues and a lack of support and understanding from their employers – this is bad for both the employees and the company. It is shocking that although infertility is defined as a medical condition, the vast majority of companies do not have a workplace policy related to fertility treatment; So many people have told us of their desperation to find out that their employer sees IVF as a lifestyle rather than a medical necessity and lumps it together with things like cosmetic procedures – with the result that employees don’t sign up for the treatment can take time off and must take annual leave or unpaid leave instead.

Fertility Network believes it is imperative for employers to support employees with fertility issues and it is good for both business and employees. Businesses are beginning to see this: we have been working to educate employers about fertility issues for decades and have seen growing interest in recent years as more companies including Tesco, Barclays, Sony, Unilever and HSBC join our fertility programme In the Workplace initiative, which helps organizations implement a fertility policy and ensures employees and managers understand the implications of fertility and treatment so they can support those around them.”

*Create fertility and cityparents

source https://www.bisayanews.com/2022/01/20/major-gap-revealed-in-workplace-policies-on-womens-health/