Will the infertility community finally get the workplace legal protection it needs?

TRIGGER WARNING: This episode deals with discussions of in/fertility and/or baby loss.

--

Imagine losing your job because you took time off ‘sick’ for infertility treatment.
Nickie Aiken is the MP for the cities of London and Westminster and decided to act after a constituent brought to her attention the injustice of the current system.

She is hoping that Parliament will vote in favour of her proposed legislation which would boost fertility employment rights – and change the narrative around fertility treatment in society and in the workplace.

--
GUEST BIO
Nickie Aiken was first elected to Parliament in December 2019. Before entering politics, Nickie had a successful career in public relations and communications.
Nickie was elected to Westminster City Council representing Warwick Ward, Pimlico in 2006. She has held various positions on Westminster City Council including the Cabinet Member for Children’s Services and Public Protection & Licensing.

While she was responsible for Children’s Services, Westminster City Council’s Children’s Services made history becoming the first in the country to be awarded an “Outstanding” rating by Ofsted.

In 2017, Nickie became the Leader of Westminster City Council. As Leader, Nickie also sat on the Executive Board of London Councils. On the board Nickie was London’s Education and Children’s Services Lead and Shadow Lead for Policing, focusing on the safeguarding implications around county lines drug gangs.

Nickie stood down as Leader of the Council after the 2019 General Election. In Parliament, she is currently a Co-Chair of the APPG for the Short Lets Sector; Vice-Chair on the APPGs for Homelessness; Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative; Theatre; and an Officer on the APPG for Women in Parliament.

Between April 2020 and December 2020 Nickie served as Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Ministerial Team at the Department for Housing, Communities and Local Government. In December 2020, Nickie was promoted to Vice-Chair of the Conservative Party for Women and Affiliate Groups.

In June 2022, Nickie introduced the Fertility Treatment (Employment Rights) Bill to Parliament which has its second reading on 25 November 2022.

You can follow Nickie on Instagram and Twitter as @twocitiesnickie, visit her website www.nickieaiken.org.uk and like her on Facebook.

Nickie also has a podcast, In Conversation with Nickie Aiken, in which she interviewed Natalie and Becky Kearns of Fertility Matters at Work about the support they are providing to her with her Bill, which you can listen to here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/5xA9YMgVaBHMY5zXeNTUKQ?si=F9aflllYR-yqavBMQD73ZQ
--
CONNECT WITH US
You can engage with the hosts and the growing In/Fertility in the City community by:
-emailing us: info@infertilityinthecity.com
-following us on:
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/infertilityinthecity
Instagram: https://instagram.com/infertilityinthecity
Twitter: https://twitter.com/InFertilityCity
--
OUR SPONSOR
Finally, thanks to Fertifa, the UK’s leading reproductive healthcare benefits provider, for sponsoring this season of the podcast. You can find out more about Fertifa here: https://www.fertifa.com. You can also contact them direct here: enquiries@fertifa.com