Fertility Treatment support at Thales

At Thales, we are committed to creating a truly diverse workforce with a culture that respects and values the uniqueness of every individual.

We recently relaunched some of our policies to improve the support to all of our current and future employees; with guidance from external suppliers and our employees to ensure we offer the best for our people.

What impact does it have / how does it help Thales employees:

We understand the importance of family and know that if an employee is considering fertility treatment or preservation, it will be a priority. Fertility preservation and treatment can be a challenging experience, and it isn’t always something that everyone wants to share with their colleagues, yet both the physical and mental effects of treatment and supporting someone through the experience can be tough. Our Fertility Treatment Policy promotes flexible working to attend appointments during working hours, and includes one weeks-worth of leave for all employees going through Fertility Treatment or preservation, as well as for those who are supporting their partners, or a surrogate too. It’s up to our employees what they use their fertility treatment leave for, as long as it’s related to treatment, Our employees might want to use it for attending treatment appointments, taking time to rest before or after a procedure, or recovering from some of the physical or emotional effects of treatment. Our policy also includes supportive behaviours to improve colleagues understanding of the experience and provides some practical guidance for what to say/ what not to say in the workplace, to ensure we maintain an inclusive and supportive workplace.

Who does it help: It helps all employees, either by offering them support whilst they go through treatment or supporting a partner or surrogate or by providing helpful guidance to support a colleague during this experience.