30 September 2026

Emma Kafton

Supporting employees through fertility treatment: what your people actually need.

Emma Kafton, co-founder of The Evewell 

Knowing that patients have been unable to be open about their fertility treatment at work is one of the most frustrating things I have learnt since we opened The Evewell in 2018. Why? Because it’s so avoidable. 

Over the last eight years, more times than I can count, patients have told me they have used the dentist excuse one time too many. They have another scan or blood test coming up, they need to be at the clinic in the morning, and they simply don’t know what to tell their manager. What else can they say? What do other patients do? How many times can you realistically have a dentist appointment before somebody starts asking questions? 

Fertility treatment affects people in very different ways, but almost always it’s a time when people feel overwhelmed. There are appointments, injections, decisions, waiting and uncertainty, often alongside a huge emotional and financial investment. Then having to cover up where you are and what you are doing during vital appointments is an unnecessary added burden. When you are already carrying all of that, you really do not have the bandwidth for any more stress and pressure. 

And yet many employees still do not feel able to tell their employer what is happening. Research from Fertility Matters at Work found that 61% of people did not feel comfortable talking to their employer about fertility treatment. People take sick leave or annual leave rather than explain why they need time away from work, and some consider leaving their jobs altogether. 

I have seen the impact of that first-hand. I have watched brilliantly talented and capable people question their careers, step back from opportunities and sometimes walk away from work because they feel broken by the burden of covering up what is really going on for them. This wouldn’t happen in most other areas of healthcare, and it shouldn’t happen to people who are simply trying to build a family. 

Things are changing, but there is still more we can do 

It’s important to say that things have improved. People talk about fertility treatment at work significantly more than they did eight years ago, and there are many more employers actively thinking about how they can support their teams. Organisations such as Fertility Matters at Work have played an important role in making these conversations more normal, and we absolutely should recognise the progress that has been made. 

But I still hear one misconception, particularly from smaller employers, that I think can stop companies from doing anything at all. They see large organisations offering significant financial fertility benefits and understandably think, we cannot compete with that. We cannot afford to fund IVF, so what can we meaningfully offer? 

I want to offer a different view. 

Clearly, financial support can be hugely significant for somebody going through fertility treatment, but you do not have to pay for treatment to be good at supporting somebody through it. An open and supportive fertility policy costs very little and can still meaningfully change an employee’s experience. 

When I talk to our patients about what would make their working lives easier, what they ask for is often remarkably simple. They want to know they can attend an appointment without feeling guilty. They want their manager to say, “Take the time you need, we’ll catch up on that call later.” They want to move a meeting without having to explain themselves repeatedly. They want someone to check in, without asking intrusive questions, and they want to know who they can speak to if they do need support. 

None of those things requires a huge employee benefits budget. They require an organisation to have thought about the situation before somebody finds themselves in it. 

What does fertility treatment actually ask of a working week? 

I also think there can be a fear of the unknown around how much time fertility treatment will actually require. An IVF cycle generally takes around four to six weeks, and during that time there may be four to eight monitoring appointments, usually in the morning. Egg collection requires a full day away from work because it involves sedation, while an embryo transfer is a relatively short procedure. Most patients continue working throughout their treatment. 

The difficult part is often not the time someone needs away from work; it is the unpredictability. Fertility treatment cannot always be fitted neatly around a work diary because the body sets the timetable. A scan may show that somebody needs to come back tomorrow rather than Thursday, which can mean finding out the evening before that they need to be at the clinic first thing the following morning. 

For an employer writing a fertility policy, that is the part I’d focus on. It’s not necessarily about providing weeks of leave. It’s about allowing somebody to move a 9am meeting without having to panic about what they’re going to tell their manager. 

It’s also important to understand that the days when nothing appears to be happening can sometimes be the hardest. After egg collection, for example, patients may be back at their desks while their embryos develop in our laboratory for five to seven days. There is no appointment to take time off for and nothing visible in their calendar, but they are waiting for a phone call that could change everything. Supporting somebody through fertility treatment is not only about giving them permission to leave the office, but it is also about understanding what they may be carrying while they are sitting in it. 

Start with something achievable 

If I could encourage employers to do one thing, it would be to remove the need for employees to negotiate their own support from scratch while they’re in the middle of treatment. 

Put something in place before they need it. Make it clear who they can speak to, give managers enough information to respond confidently and sensitively, and allow some flexibility around appointments. Most importantly, create a culture where somebody doesn’t feel that saying “I’m having fertility treatment” is going to change how their employer sees them. 

It doesn’t have to be a perfect policy, and it doesn’t have to come with an enormous budget. I’d much rather see a small company put a few simple, achievable things in place than decide that because they can’t make a grand gesture, there’s nothing meaningful they can do. 

On 3 November, I’ll be speaking at The F Word at Work Live, hosted by Fertility Matters at Work, on a panel on how companies can move from the business case for fertility support to putting best practice into reality. The Evewell is also proud to sponsor the event and the Fertility Friendly Employer of the Year award. 

I want to use the day to share real and attainable ways employers can support their people, whether they’re a global organisation with a substantial benefits budget or a small business that has never written a fertility policy before. 

Because sometimes meaningful support is as simple as making sure your employee doesn’t have to invent another dentist appointment. 

And if you can’t join us, we run free fertility workplace talks for employees, delivered by the clinical team who do the treatment. Find out more here.

FAQs 

How much time off should an employer allow for IVF? 

Every treatment cycle is different, but an IVF cycle generally involves several monitoring appointments, usually in the morning, plus a full day for egg collection (as there is sedation involved). Most patients continue working throughout treatment. For many employees, flexibility at short notice matters more than taking large amounts of leave. 

Does a fertility policy have to cost an employer money? 

No. Financial fertility benefits can be valuable, but many of the things employees need most cost very little or nothing. Clear guidance, flexibility around appointments, named fertility leave, informed managers and a supportive culture can all make fertility treatment considerably easier to manage alongside work. 

What should a fertility policy include as a minimum? 

Named fertility leave so nobody has to negotiate their own arrangement, flexibility around appointments particularly in the mornings, one named person an employee can speak to in confidence, and enough guidance for managers to respond well without asking intrusive questions. Most employers can put all four in place without a benefits budget.