[Fran]

Hi everyone,

Our next power hour will take place next week on Monday at 12pm and its all about fertility after cancer and managing those situations in the workplace. We will be on hand to answer all of your questions relating to this topic, so please feel free to come along with questions and post them in this thread.
Look forward to answering your questions next week.
Take care,

Fran

[Fran]

Hi everyone! We are now live for todays power hour. Please feel free to submit your questions in this thread and we will answer as many as we can over the next hour.

Thanks,

Fran

[Fran]

We do have a question that has been submitted prior to todays session:

What types of adjustments do I need to make/offer to any of my staff who are going through cancer treatment?

[Fran]

This is a good question – cancer treatment is different for everyone and everyone will have different needs. Its best to offer a range of adjustments on an individual basis, such as flexible working or hybrid or remote working. Having a policy that allows for flexibility is key when supporting employees with a cancer diagnosis.

[Fran]

Another submitted question:
What treatments are available after someone has had cancer? What are their options for having a family?

[Fran]

This does all depend on the type of cancer and treatment they have had for cancer. Radiotherapy and chemotherapy can damage sperm and eggs and cause some people to become infertile. Sometimes egg, sperm or embryo freezing takes place prior to the cancer treatment so that fertility can be preserved and that fertility treatment could take place after cancer treatment. In other cases, it may be that the womb for example is removed, meaning that the female may need to the assistance of a surrogate to help her to conceive. As with the previous question – it comes down to individual circumstances. The best thing to do is to ask employees how they want to be supported and provide space for them to talk about their next steps and options for family building.

[Fran]

This information from Macmillan about cancer and fertility treatment may be helpful when building out HR policies and understanding the process.
https://www.macmillan.org.uk/cancer-information-and-support/impacts-of-cancer/fertility/treatment

[Fran]

Do we need to treat leave for fertility treatment the same as any other medical appointments/leave?

[Fran]

Another great question – and the answer is yes. Fertility treatment is classed as a medical appointment/procedure. The World Health Organisation classify infertility as a disease – so it very much should be treated as medical/clinical. One size does not fit all so your policy needs to be flexible as individuals will have different needs. Its best practice to support employees with paid leave for fertility treatment appointments. The IVFN can support with providing workplace fertility policies and how to support employees on a fertility journey.

[Fran]

How can we as employers provide the right support and wellbeing?

[Fran]

You can provide wellbeing support to employees facing fertility challenges after cancer by creating psychologically safe workplaces. This will help employees to feel comfortable discussing their needs. You can also offer flexible working arrangements and time off for medical appointments as this will support them with their ongoing needs.

Its also important to ensure that managers are trained to respond with empathy and confidentiality and that they have support from HR with this.

You can provide access to counselling, employee assistance programmes and specialist support which includes signposting to organisations such as Macmillan Cancer Support. The most important thing to be aware of is that individuals will have different needs so your support offerings need to be inclusive.

[Fran]

It looks like we haven’t had any other questions submitted for todays session, so I want to take the time to thank you all for your questions and coming along to todays power hour. Next months employer focused power hour will be focusing on supporting colleagues and employees with endometriosis in the workplace, so look out for the information on that one.

Speak soon,

Fran

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