A newly-appointed managing partner has initiated free fertility testing for all staff as part of a programme of health benefits.
London-based Osbornes Law claims to be the first law firm to offer the free testing: not just for employees but their partners as well.
The clinically validated at-home hormone test includes an online assessment checking ovarian reserve or egg count. It also screens for up to 18 reproductive health conditions such as endometriosis and polycystic ovary syndrome.
Osbornes is also offering to cover specialist consultations for women in the perimenopause and menopause.
The extra benefits come following the appointment of Jo Wescott, the firm’s first female managing partner, last month. A mother of two, she wanted to offer additional help to staff and their partners after watching close friends struggle to start a family.
‘I was in my mid-late 30s when I had my children, which in medical terms is classed as geriatric,’ said Wescott. ‘I had no fertility issues, but I know many friends and colleagues who sadly weren’t so lucky. People often think it won’t happen to them and when it does, it’s absolutely devastating. It changes relationships and I have seen this both personally and professionally.’
Wescott said it was important that colleagues could be proactive about their reproductive health and could identify any problems at an early enough stage to be able to do something about it.
‘As managing partner it’s my job to support our employees, almost three-quarters of whom are women,’ she added. ‘I want people to be happy and healthy when they come to work, and this is one small way to help maintain that.’
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