Workplaces should have formal policies to help staff undergoing fertility treatments, experts have warned.
The Chartered Management Institute (CMI) has said employers risk losing valued staff without adopting measures to support those having difficulty conceiving.
These could include flexible working, paid time off to attend appointments or compassionate leave.
Currently, only 19 per cent of 1,000 managers surveyed by the CMI said their organisations had a formal policy concerning fertility treatment for employees, according to reports.
A further 35 per cent of those polled revealed there were no plans to introduce one, despite six in ten considering these policies to be important.
CMI chief executive Ann Francke told the Guardian: “Fertility treatment is often a very private and unpredictable experience for employees, presenting numerous challenges such as balancing work pressures with last-minute hospital appointments.
“Without skilled management support, the significant stresses of fertility treatment can lead to increased sick leave and retention issues if staff feel they have no other choice but to quit or decrease their responsibilities in order to cope with the impact of treatment.
“Employers risk losing good people because they are not addressing what is a growing issue affecting more and more of our workforce every year.”
The poll comes after a separate report, published last year, found one in five employees quit their job due to their treatment by employers while undergoing fertility treatment such as IVF.
The study by Totaljobs and the Fawcett Society found a further third considered leaving.
Around one in seven couples have difficulty conceiving, according to NHS data. However almost six in ten people undergoing fertility treatment have kept it a secret from senior colleagues, the 2023 study found.
With more than 90 per cent needing time off for their treatment, this means it is often logged as sick leave or unpaid leave.
A white paper submitted to the government this year from the Workplace Fertility Campaign Group warned that a lack of formal rights is leaving workplace protections largely at the discretion of individual employers, despite the impact of treatment being described as “gruelling physically, logistically, psychologically, socially, and financially”.
It argues the UK should follow Malta, Korea and Japan and explore developing bespoke employment legislation around fertility treatments.
Sharon Martin, of Fertility Network UK, which contributed to the white paper, helps to provide advice to employers on building their fertility policies.
“With a policy in place, employees know immediately what help is available without having to disclose their infertility or treatment if they don’t wish to,” she said.
