Aussie company launches fertility reimbursement policy for all employees

An Australian business has expanded its employee benefits policies, which include giving staff greater support when it comes to their fertility. 

Organon Australia’s new employee benefits policies have been rolled out this month, aimed at creating a more supported, flexible and inclusive workplace for staff, “no matter what stage of life, gender or family situation” they’re in.

Key to the rollout is Organon’s new fertility reimbursement policy, which will support employees to be reimbursed up to $3,000 per year for fertility and assisted reproductive treatments and procedures.

The new policy applies to the employee, or the employee’s spouse or partner, and is backdated to April 2022 to accommodate employees who may have already commenced this treatment.

Organon has also introduced a new pregnancy loss leave of up to six weeks to support any pregnant employee who experiences a miscarriage.

Elsewhere, the group has extended its compassionate leave benefits to two calendar weeks to support employees during the loss of someone in their immediate family. It is also now offering an additional 10 leave days per calendar year, to be tailored to suit individual needs. This leave, Organon said, has limitless options, and “for example, can be used to extend personal leave, to care for a loved one, to support employees and their families during a life stage, or for self-care”.

“The 10 days leave is in addition to all existing benefits, and ad hoc leave days provided by the company, such as company-wide wellbeing day gifted to all employees for International Women’s Day on 8 March,” a statement from Organon said.

Sophie Althans, HR director at Organon Australia, said the introduction of the new policies came in response to two global employee surveys of Organon employees conducted in 2022.   

One consistent theme, she said, was that the existing benefits seemed to be more focused on parents and, in some cases, weren’t as inclusive of the diversity of their people.

“Organon looked at how the company could broaden the scope of the benefits, to support employees no matter what stage of life they are at,” Ms Althans said.

“As a leading company dedicated to the health of women as the foundation of a strong and healthy society, diversity is in our DNA. That’s why we want to be able to support our people when they need it the most, and these new policies reflect that promise. 

“I’m proud of our unique and encompassing flexible work and lifestyle benefits, which helps us create a great place to work, with equal opportunity for all our people to grow, develop and succeed. It reflects our commitment at Organon to creating an inclusive environment, where everyone feels valued and respected.”

Commenting further on the expanded employee benefits, Nirelle Tolstoshev, Organon Australia managing director, said: “Our new flexible work and lifestyle benefits are founded on concepts of belonging, respect, and wellbeing. These new policies recognise that there is no one size fits all, and actively supporting the diverse needs of our people is our way of ensuring that we are living up to Organon’s value of ‘we all belong’.

“In designing this full package of policies, we challenged ourselves to be innovative and courageous to create work practices that allow every colleague to feel safe, respected and connected to our people-first culture.”