Media company Ladbible has introduced a new abortion policy to staff globally which includes offering up to 10 days paid leave for an abortion procedure.
It will offer up to $10,000 (£8,387) in travel allowance for employees to access healthcare related to abortion. This is especially poignant for Ladbible’s US employees, where the overturning of Roe v Wade means 26 conservative states are either certain or considered likely to introduce new abortion restrictions or bans.
All full and part-time Ladbible employees are eligible for the new policy.
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Andrew Bazeley, policy, research and public affairs manager at The Fawcett Society, welcomed the changes.
Speaking to HR magazine, he said: “Employers who have staff working in countries and states with mediaeval abortion policies should absolutely be supporting them financially to access the healthcare they need, and we commend Ladbible for taking this step.
“Every company who cares about their female employees’ health and right to control their own bodies should take whatever steps they can to do the same.”
There were 214,256 abortions across England and Wales in 2021, the highest number since the Abortion Act was introduced in 1967.
Sinead Allchurch, HR director at Ladbible, said the new policy was a move to ensure staff had as much support as possible.
She said: “It’s important to us that all employees feel supported through situations which may be personally challenging and difficult. We believe that everyone has the right to make decisions in relation to their body, health and have access to comprehensive healthcare”.
The company has also launched the Someone You Love campaign to attempt to address the stigma around talking about abortions, in addition to educating Ladbible’s audience on abortion rights.
