Three women with personal experience campaigning for statutory rights in the workplace for those needing to have fertility treatment are encouraging people to write to their local MPs to support proposed legislation, which will play a vital role in protecting the rights of those going undergoing fertility treatment.
Becky Kearns, Natalie Silverman and Claire Ingle, who together formed CIC Fertility Matters At Work (FMAW) after their own lived experience of how fertility issues affects both employees and organisations.
The trio recently worked with MP Nickie Aiken to advise on her campaign and the first reading of the “Fertility Treatment: Employment Rights” bill which took place in June 2022, which looks to introduce employment rights specifically for fertility treatment, in particular, statutory rights for time off to attend appointments.
With the second reading taking place in parliament on the 25th November 2022, FMAW is asking people to show their support by writing to their local MP asking for them to back the proposed legislation.
Becky Kearns, Co-Founder of FMAW said: “Over the next few weeks and months, we want to flood the inboxes of MP’s all over the country to get them to take notice and realise the need to support this bill. Sharing your personal stories with them can really help bring to life the challenge of fertility treatment on everyday working lives, helping to drive momentum and support Nickie in getting this legislation through parliament.
“Politics has been rather polarising and divisive in recent years in the UK, but it’s important to note that this is a bipartisan issue that will hopefully gain cross party support. Therefore, even if you didn’t personally vote for your local MP, they still represent you in parliament and can help push this forward.
“We’re really excited about where this campaign might take us and hope to make the experiences of those going through fertility treatment in the future a little less stressful when it comes to the workplace.”
Find out more about the campaign and FMAW’s suggestions on contacting your local MP here: https://fertilitymattersatwork.com/campaign/