People undergoing fertility treatment should have the legal right to take time off for their appointments, according to research that finds over a third have considered leaving their job due to the physical and emotional strain.
The campaign group Fertility Matters At Work is calling for IVF to be recategorised as a medical procedure, rather than an elective treatment equivalent to cosmetic surgery, in guidance for employers under the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) code of practice.
This would mean employers are no longer able to refuse time off for appointments, and would help tackle the stigma and lack of support that exists in many workplaces, the group says.
Fertility Matters at Work has published a report based on a survey of more than 1,000 UK-based employees who have undergone fertility treatment. It found that nearly all (99%) had experienced it as a major life event that affected their mental wellbeing, while 87% reported anxiety or depression directly related to it, and 38% had left or considered leaving their job.
One employee quoted in the report said that fertility treatment felt like “a full-time job”, including phone calls, appointments, chasing results, taking injections and medication several times a day and dealing with the emotional and physical toll.
Another said they were “massively underperforming”, while a teacher had to go on sick leave for the duration of their treatment due to their job’s lack of flexibility.
More than two-thirds (68%) of the respondents felt it had negatively affected their career trajectory, while nearly a quarter (24%) believed it limited their promotion prospects. More than three-quarters (77%) had taken time off work due to treatments, in many cases because they felt unwell or because they were hiding their treatment.
Nearly two-thirds (61%) feared bringing it up at work due to stigma and fear of repercussions, and a similar proportion (63%) were unaware of a workplace fertility policy. Just 35% felt their line manager had been supportive.
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Fertility Matters at Work would like more employers to implement fertility policies alongside line manager training, in reflection of the fact that fertility challenges now affect one in six people of working age worldwide, while in the UK 52,500 people underwent IVF in 2022.
Becky Kearns, a co-founder of Fertility Matters at Work, said: “This is not just a private issue – it’s a workforce crisis hiding in plain sight. We’re facing a global fertility decline but failing to support those actively trying to start a family. It’s time for employers and policymakers to step up.”
Kearns co-founded Fertility Matters at Work after her own experience of undergoing IVF as an HR professional, when she was diagnosed with premature ovarian insufficiency (POI).
“In total, I went through five cycles of IVF, including a miscarriage, before going down the route of egg donation to have my three girls. Prior to going through my own experience, as an HR professional I had no idea what fertility treatment entailed and wouldn’t have had a clue as to how to support someone. My experience took significant toll on my mental health and impacted my career,” she said.
Alice MacDonald, the Labour MP for Norwich North, said the research “shines a spotlight on the glaring gaps in employment rights and workplace practice”, which she has also raised several times in parliament and discussed with the minister for employment rights.
“It is also frankly astonishing that, under the Equality Act code of practice, fertility treatment is compared to cosmetic dental surgery, meaning that employers often refuse time off for fertility appointments. Fertility treatment should be treated as a medical appointment,” she said.