Flexa

What Is Fertility Treatment Leave?

9th Dec 2022

Fertility treatment leave is a type of leave granted to employees undergoing fertility treatments, such as in vitro fertilisation (IVF) or other assisted reproductive technologies. This leave provides employees with the necessary time off to attend medical appointments, undergo treatments, and recover from any associated procedures.

The availability and length of fertility treatment leave may vary depending on the country's or organisation's laws and policies. In some countries, fertility treatment leave may be provided as part of statutory maternity or paternity leave or as a company benefit.

Fertility treatment leave may be paid or unpaid and available to both men and women. Some employers may require employees to provide medical certification or proof of treatment to be eligible for fertility treatment leave.

Why should companies offer fertility treatment leave?

Around 1 in 7 couples may have difficulty conceiving, and employees may be reluctant to approach or discuss fertility issues with their employer, fearing it will negatively impact their career.

It's common for those going through fertility issues to be impacted physically and emotionally. Therefore, employers must be aware of employment rights and implement policies and procedures to create a supportive work environment and an improved working culture. 

Although employees have no statutory right to take time off work for IVF treatment, ACAS guidance suggests employers treat appointments as any other medical appointment under the employment contract. 

Having fertility treatment leave as a company benefit helps reduce employee stress for those going through treatment - thus helping to improve workplace culture and boost productivity. Providing understanding, care and support to employees helps demonstrate that a company values their employees. 

What companies offer fertility treatment leave? 

Many companies offer fertility treatment as a company benefit; we're sharing the spotlight on some of these below:

Depop

They’re a community-powered fashion marketplace to buy and sell pre-owned clothing; they have some fantastic benefits from sabbaticals and enhanced maternity and paternity leave through to a work-from-anywhere scheme. 

Blood Cancer UK

A charity helping to beat blood cancer by investing millions into blood cancer research and transforming treatments. They offer some great benefits, including adoption leave, shared parental leave, a work-from-anywhere scheme and much more. 

Lumo

They are a digital marketing company helping businesses to grow online and are very passionate about flexible working. They offer company benefits, including a work-from-anywhere scheme, adoption leave, pregnancy loss leave and more.  

ScreenCloud 

ScreenCloud helps businesses create stronger connections with those that are important to them. They offer unlimited annual leave, a work-from-home allowance, shared parental leave and lots more benefits. 

Ticket Tailor 

They empower event creators by making it easier and more affordable to sell tickets. As well as team building holidays, they offer adoption leave (6 weeks at full pay), sabbaticals, shared parental and more - check out their company benefits to find out more.