Firms not supporting staff through IVF could lose £217m in hidden costs, study shows
UK employers who do not formally support staff undergoing fertility treatments could be losing £217.3m a year in sick leave, lost productivity and resignations, research estimates.Companies without fertility leave pay £35,317 per affected employee, compared with a cost of £388 for 10 days’ paid leave when a clear fertility policy is in place, the campaign group Fertility Matters at Work estimated.“Employees currently have no legal right to take paid time off work for fertility treatment,” said Alice Macdonald, the Labour MP for Norwich North, who will raise the findings in a 10-minute rule bill in parliament on Tuesday, in which she will put forward introducing a statutory right to paid time off for fertility appointments.She added: “A change in the law is not just a moral imperative but an economic one.
The current situation is bad for our society, bad for our economy and bad for people who want to start or grow their family and require extra medical support to do so.”Fertility Matters at Work calculated that employers lost £53.8m each year through sick leave for appointments, typically taken by 63% of employees undergoing fertility treatment and usually to conceal the procedure, and up to £27.8m in lost productivity, with 73% of employees undergoing fertility treatment saying their performance had suffered.Meanwhile, employers pay an average of £30,614 to recruit a replacement for an employee who leaves due to lack of support, as happened for 6%; while the Treasury loses £47.
9m in unpaid leave and resignations.The report estimates that providing 10 days’ paid fertility leave costs £388, and is cheaper than providing five days, which costs £434, due to productivity gains from carefully planned absence.Becky Kearns, the chief executive and co-founder of Fertility Matters at Work, said: “Most businesses are choosing the expensive option without realising it, and employees are paying the price in lost careers and stalled opportunities.”Nicole McCarley, who has an administrative job at a private healthcare provider, has taken multiple periods of sick leave due to the side effects of fertility medication, which included dizziness, hot sweats and double vision.As a result, she had two disciplinary hearings, and received no reassurance that she would not lose her job or have her pay cut despite explaining her situation.
“The fear of losing my income and the chance of starting a family was overwhelming,I was always so worried whether my job would be safe and how if I did lose my job that my hopes and dreams of having a family would disappear due to losing my income,This also took a massive toll on my mental health,” she said,She raised her fertility treatment with her previous manager, who told her: “I don’t know what that is or how you want me to help,”She said: “At the back of my mind I was hoping someone would say, ‘I know you’re struggling taking this time out – take the time and don’t worry about work’.
”Sign up to First EditionOur morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what’s happening and why it mattersafter newsletter promotionMcCarley is now pregnant, and said: “The protection I’ve got now compared with before is insane – I just can’t get my head around it”, citing paid time off for appointments instead of needing to use annual leave, being encouraged to take sick leave for symptoms, and a compassionate attitude.Laura* had six cycles of IVF, one of which resulted in a miscarriage.She said her mental health was “severely impacted”, including severe depression, anxiety, fatigue and insomnia.She is now facing an absence review that may result in a formal warning, despite the fact her miscarriage should have been considered pregnancy-related illness and not counted towards absence triggers.“They won’t accept this – I’m broken and wish I could leave but can’t face looking for a new job,” she said.
Petra Wilton, the director of policy at the Chartered Management Institute, said managers should create “open, supportive cultures where staff feel able to speak up and access flexibility without fear of stigma”.“Employers risk losing good people because they are not addressing what is a growing issue affecting more and more of our workforce every year,” she added.A government spokesperson said: “We have set out our immediate priorities for reforming employment law in the plan to make work pay, which includes supporting those balancing work with treatment.“We are strengthening the right to flexible working in our employment rights bill, which will make it easier for employees and employers to agree arrangements that support attendance at medical appointments, including those for IVF.”*The name has been changed
Pound hits lowest since April as investors anticipate budget tax rises; markets hit by AI valuation jitters – as it happened
The pound has now dropped to $1.3064, a new six-month low, as City traders anticipate tax rises in this month’s budget.Sterling has lost more than 0.5% today, or around three-quarters of a cent, with analysts pointing to Rachel Reeves’s promise of an “iron clad” commitment to her fiscal rules, and her failure to rule out tax rises.Fiona Cincotta, senior market analyst at City Index, says:In a rare pre-budget speech, Reeves reiterated her commitment to budget goals and what many are considering as weaves, paving the way for more tax hikes and tough decisions in the Budget that would come close to breaking the party’s manifesto pledges
Gopichand Hinduja, head of Britain’s richest family, dies aged 85
Gopichand Hinduja, the billionaire head of Britain’s richest family, has died aged 85.Hinduja died on Tuesday in London after a long illness, a spokesperson said.The low-profile Hinduja family topped the Sunday Times Rich List this year with a collective net worth of £35.3bn, thanks to their sprawling business interests across banking, oil, real estate and entertainment.Gopichand Hinduja, nicknamed “GP”, co-chaired the family business with his older brother Srichand, who died in 2023
Apple Watch SE 3 review: the bargain smartwatch for iPhone
Apple’s entry level Watch SE has been updated with almost everything from its excellent mid-range Series 11 but costs about 40% less, making it the bargain of iPhone smartwatches.The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more.The new Watch SE 3 costs from £219 (€269/$249/A$399), making it one of the cheapest brand-new fully fledged smartwatches available for the iPhone and undercutting the £369 Series 11 and the top-of-the-line £749 Apple Watch Ultra 3
Experts find flaws in hundreds of tests that check AI safety and effectiveness
Experts have found weaknesses, some serious, in hundreds of tests used to check the safety and effectiveness of new artificial intelligence models being released into the world.Computer scientists from the British government’s AI Security Institute, and experts at universities including Stanford, Berkeley and Oxford, examined more than 440 benchmarks that provide an important safety net.They found flaws that “undermine the validity of the resulting claims”, that “almost all … have weaknesses in at least one area”, and resulting scores might be “irrelevant or even misleading”.Many of the benchmarks are used to evaluate the latest AI models released by the big technology companies, said the study’s lead author, Andrew Bean, a researcher at the Oxford Internet Institute.In the absence of nationwide AI regulation in the UK and US, benchmarks are used to check if new AIs are safe, align to human interests and achieve their claimed capabilities in reasoning, maths and coding
LIV Golf backtracks from short format to 72-hole tournaments after pressure from players
LIV Golf has surprisingly backtracked on one of its founding principles by announcing tournaments in the fourth season of the Saudi Arabian-backed league will be played over 72 holes. Until now, LIV has proudly operated over 54 holes and three days, with the name itself partly based on a Roman numeral reference point. Could a rebrand to LXXII be imminent?The dramatic shift, which is believed to have come after pressure from players, means LIV will soon mirror the schedule traditional golf tours it once tried to upstage. LIV will, however, continue to run both individual and team competition elements.“The most successful leagues around the world – IPL, EPL [English Premier League], NBA, MLB, NFL – continue to innovate and evolve their product,” said Scott O’Neil, LIV’s chief executive
Roebuck and Steward injuries likely to trigger major England reshuffle against Fiji
Injuries to Tom Roebuck and Freddie Steward look likely to trigger an eye-catching reshuffle in England’s backline for the Test against Fiji on Saturday. Marcus Smith, Henry Arundell and Ollie Lawrence are all in contention to be involved, with Manny Feyi-Waboso potentially the solitary starting back-three survivor from the victory against Australia last Saturday.The head coach, Steve Borthwick, had been hoping to announce his starting XV early this week only for that plan to be mothballed when Roebuck limped out of training prematurely on Tuesday with an ankle problem. Steward has not trained so far this week after sustaining a finger injury late in the win against the Wallabies, opening the way for Smith to replace him at full-back.Roebuck was an influential figure against Australia, his aerial skills contributing to two of England’s four tries, but if he is ruled unavailable England are not short of options
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