'Reproductive health and wellbeing is an important and often overlooked aspect of employee wellness,' says CEO
Claims and risk management solutions provider Gallagher Bassett Australia has unveiled a new 10-day paid reproductive health leave in a show of commitment to employee wellness.
The company, which has over 1,600 employees in Australia, announced that it will offer up to 10 days of paid leave annually for IVF treatment, chronic reproductive health conditions, such as endometriosis, preventative screening for breast or prostate cancers, and other reproductive health treatments.
"We recognise that reproductive health and wellbeing is an important and often overlooked aspect of employee wellness, and we want to support our people through their reproductive journey, whatever that may look like for them," said Pete Nicholson, chief executive officer of Gallagher Bassett Australia, in a statement.
"We believe this policy is a game-changer for our industry and sets a new benchmark for how employers can care for their staff."
Tanith Jones, General Manager - People & Culture at Gallagher Bassett Australia, said the new policy is a result of employees' feedback and experience, as well as latest research and best practices on reproductive health and wellbeing.
Caregiver leave boost
Gallagher Bassett is also hiking its paid primary caregiver leave to 16 weeks, and secondary caregiver leave to two weeks.
According to Jones, the company's reproductive health policy was developed to complement these changes to primary and secondary caregiver leave.
"We are proud to offer these benefits for our people and are looking forward to seeing the change this will make for our workforce and the industry," she said.
