Calls for legal right to paid leave for IVF treatment

Natalie Rowntree, from North Yorkshire, recently started her IVF journey and describes the process as “intense”.

The 38-year-old woman had seven in vitro fertilization appointments in eight weeks; these included numerous blood tests, scans and x-rays, one of which left him in physical discomfort for “several days”.

The nature of fertility treatment means all of these appointments have to happen at very specific times of the month, and it’s been difficult to fit that in with her job at a private optician.

“I use sick days and vacation days to complete these appointments,” she says.

Added to this is the emotional burden of having to manage the process without any leave rights.

Two years ago, Natalie suffered two miscarriages within a six-month period and has been unable to have children with her partner ever since.

“The emotional side of it is pretty tough and then I’m trying to handle it at work… Can I just bite the bullet and explain what’s going on? Or are you going to keep having sick days and holidays?” he says.

According to research by social enterprise Fertility Matters at Work, Natalie is one of approximately 63% of workers undergoing in vitro fertilization treatment who take sick leave to receive treatment; many state that they do so to hide their treatment from their employers.

There are now calls for women undergoing fertility treatment to have the legal right to take paid time off to attend appointments.

Campaigners claim that although some employers offer fertility support, this is unequal, not guaranteed and should be classed as a medical procedure.

Getting pregnant through in vitro fertilization provides the same maternity rights as non-IVF pregnancies, but there are currently no legal rights in employment law when it comes to fertility treatment.

This poses a potential cost to the economy and businesses of millions of dollars in lost productivity, according to new research from Fertility Matters at Work.

Natalie says she avoided bringing up her treatment to her managers because she was worried about the backlash she might receive for taking time off work to go through the process.

“If I went to my managers and told them I was pregnant, I wouldn’t be nervous about it at all… but in this case, you can’t give the work a timeline because you don’t know how long it’s going to take.”

The Equality and Human Rights Commission’s employment guidance advises “good practice” for employers with workers seeking time off for in vitro fertilization treatment, but recognizes that such requests do not fall within the scope of pregnancy and maternity protected in law.

However, refusing to consent to a person for fertility treatment may be considered gender discrimination in some cases; but campaigners say this is difficult to prove.

Rebecca Kearns, of Fertility Matters at Work, set up the group with two other women after experiencing her own difficulties during in vitro fertilization while trying to stay afloat at work.

The 39-year-old says furloughing would have a potential benefit to employers, which could save the economy millions in lost productivity.

“What we found is that 63% are taking sick leave, which impacts businesses, there is a cost to that interruption of absence.”

He also thinks employers need to be more aware of the harm that IVF, which he sees as a “major life event”, can inflict on their employees.

“You usually have a lot of short appointments to attend, which is very dependent on how your body responds to the medication.

“But we also know that there is still a huge amount of stigma around IVF and infertility.

“Almost every day we receive messages from people struggling with this experience, from people taking sick leave to hide treatment, who then say they are triggered by absence procedures and potentially have their performance tracked.

“And this was all because they were going through fertility treatment and couldn’t say that this was what they were going through.”

He said women also told him they had quit their jobs and signed confidentiality agreements as a result of in vitro fertilization.

The government says that while there is no specific legal right to leave for in vitro fertilization treatment, it expects employers to treat staff fairly and accommodate reasonable requests.

The government also says it is strengthening flexible working rules to make it easier for employees to agree support with their workplace.

But that’s not enough reassurance for Labor MP Alice MacDonald, who will introduce the issue to Parliament with a ten-minute rule bill proposing to legislate the right to statutory leave for fertility appointments.

While the issue is unlikely to become law without official government support, he is trying to put the issue “definitely on the government’s radar.”

“A lot of people, especially women, are affected by this when they’re trying to have a baby, and even though it’s not your fault you need extra medical support, you’re not entitled to time off to go to these appointments,” she says.

“At a time when you’re hoping it will work, you’re hoping it’ll be successful, you end up getting pregnant and having the baby you want, there’s an additional barrier between you and your employer.

“There are many employers who are supportive, but you have to hope that you have an employer who understands you and will give you time off.

“We think if it was clearly stated in law what your rights are, it would open up the discussion and employers should have a policy.”

Patrick Milnes of the British Chambers of Commerce says there are concerns among businesses about the potential for “over-regulation”, particularly in anticipation of the Employment Rights Bill which aims to ease rules on flexible working.

“Small and medium-sized businesses in particular have been talking to us about how concerned they are about different types of regulatory permission,” he says.

“Most of the employers we speak to already do this sort of thing as a matter of good practice.

“If you legislate, these processes can become more complex, they can become more burdensome, and in fact in many cases it is easier to do them on a case-by-case basis.

“There is a middle ground between having nothing and having a full legal process, which can be overwhelming in some cases.”

But Natalie says statutory leave rights would make a “huge” difference for her.

“If you didn’t have to think about ‘what will work think about me being furloughed again?’ It takes away most of the stress.

“I’m in the beginning stages [of IVF] and I think about what it’s going to look like going forward from a business perspective.

“I don’t want this to go on forever for other women who will be in the same situation. I think this is an important thing to fix.”