UK employees do not currently have a general legal right to paid time off for IVF appointments. Employers should treat IVF appointments like other medical appointments, follow contracts and policies, avoid discrimination and consider flexibility or paid leave. A strong fertility policy goes further: it covers patients and partners, uses inclusive language, gives managers clear guidance and protects privacy so support does not depend on which line manager receives the disclosure.

How can fertility treatment affect work?

Fertility tests and treatment rarely fit neatly outside working hours. Employees may face:

• Short-notice appointments and changing treatment dates
• Travel to a clinic or laboratory
• Medication schedules and side effects
• Procedures and recovery
• Providing a semen sample within a time window
• Calls about fertilisation or embryo development during work
• Anxiety, grief and difficulty concentrating
• Financial pressure from self-funded treatment
• Pregnancy loss or an unsuccessful cycle

The employee undergoing treatment may carry the physical burden, while a partner may need appointments, sample collection, emotional support and time after loss. A workplace policy should recognise both without pretending their experiences are identical.

What are the current UK rights for IVF appointments?

As of 22 July 2026, Acas states that there is no general legal right to paid time off for IVF treatment appointments. Employers should treat IVF appointments in the same way as other medical appointments and follow the employment contract, sickness policy and any special-leave policy.

An employer may offer:

• Paid fertility-treatment leave
• Unpaid leave
• Annual leave
• Flexible hours or remote work
• A temporary adjustment to duties or location

These options may come from policy or agreement rather than a fertility-specific statutory entitlement.

Legal rights depend on employment status, facts and UK nation. This section is general information, not employment-law advice. Employees and employers should check current Acas, GOV.UK or nidirect guidance and obtain advice for individual disputes.

When do pregnancy rights apply during IVF?

Acas says that at the embryo-transfer stage, a worker has the same rights as a pregnant worker. If the employer knows the worker might be pregnant, protection against pregnancy discrimination applies. If the transfer is unsuccessful, that protection continues for two weeks after the worker finds out.

Once pregnancy is established, pregnant employees have rights that include paid time off for reasonable antenatal care and protection against pregnancy and maternity discrimination. A partner may have a right to unpaid time off for up to two antenatal appointments, generally capped at 6.5 hours each, subject to the legal conditions.

Fertility-treatment appointments before embryo transfer are not automatically antenatal appointments. Employers can and often should provide better support than the minimum law.

Do male partners have a right to time off for fertility treatment?

There is no general statutory right to paid time off simply because a partner is undergoing fertility treatment. A man may need time for his own medical appointment or sample, to accompany his partner, or because distress makes him unfit for work. The applicable route may be the employer’s medical-appointment policy, fertility policy, annual leave, flexible working or sickness process.

After pregnancy begins, an eligible employee may take unpaid time off to accompany a pregnant partner to two antenatal appointments under the current rules.

An inclusive employer should not make partners wait until pregnancy to receive support. Attendance at egg collection, embryo transfer, counselling or an unsuccessful-cycle review may matter to the couple even when no statutory leave applies.

What is the “line manager lottery”?

In the original podcast, Becky Kearns and Natalie Silverman of Fertility Matters at Work describe the “line manager lottery”: one employee receives compassion and flexibility while another in the same organisation is refused because there is no clear policy or manager training.

Ciaran recalls being supported by school leaders despite the absence of a formal framework. That was valuable, but support should not rely on luck.

A policy creates consistency by telling employees:

• Who they can approach
• What leave or flexibility is available
• Whether it is paid
• What evidence, if any, is required
• How privacy will be protected
• How sickness, loss and unsuccessful treatment will be handled
• Where to find emotional support

Managers still need discretion, but the minimum level of care should be clear.

What should a workplace fertility policy include?

Scope

• Good practice: Cover diagnosis, preservation, assisted conception, donor conception, surrogacy, pregnancy loss and ending treatment

People

• Good practice: Include the person undergoing treatment, partners, donors and intended parents where relevant

Leave

• Good practice: State the amount, pay, notice and whether leave can be taken in hours rather than whole days

Flexibility

• Good practice: Allow reasonable short-notice changes, remote work or adjusted duties where practical

Privacy

• Good practice: Limit information to people who genuinely need it and say how records are stored

Evidence

• Good practice: Avoid unnecessary proof and explain any requirement clearly

Sickness

• Good practice: Explain how treatment-related sickness is recorded and managed

Loss

• Good practice: Include pregnancy loss and unsuccessful treatment without requiring public disclosure

Support

• Good practice: Signpost counselling, employee assistance, peer networks and external specialists

Management

• Good practice: Provide scripts, training, escalation routes and a named policy owner

Inclusion

• Good practice: Use language that reflects different genders, relationships and routes to parenthood

Review

• Good practice: Monitor use, employee feedback and unequal outcomes without exposing individuals

A policy should not imply that an employee must disclose a diagnosis to receive every form of support. Offer a confidential route and collect only necessary information.

How much paid fertility leave should an employer offer?

There is no single statutory or universal “gold standard”. Employers should decide through consultation, considering the realities of treatment rather than assuming one or two predictable appointments.

Useful design principles include:

• Paid leave for a defined number of appointments or hours
• Coverage across more than one treatment cycle
• Separate provision for the patient and partner where their needs differ
• Flexibility for short-notice changes
• Recovery time after procedures
• Support after an unsuccessful cycle or loss
• No penalty through attendance triggers for approved fertility leave

Be transparent about limits. A policy that sounds generous but excludes travel, partners or repeated cycles may still leave employees using sickness or hiding treatment.

How should an employee start the conversation?

You do not have to give every medical detail. Begin with the work impact and the request:

“I am having fertility treatment that involves medical appointments, some at short notice. I would like to discuss a confidential plan for leave and flexibility.”

For a partner:

“My partner is having fertility treatment and I have my own appointments as well as times when I need to accompany them. Can we review the relevant policies and agree how I should notify you?”

Ask:

• Is there a fertility, medical-appointment or special-leave policy?
• Will the time be paid, unpaid or annual leave?
• Who needs to know and what will they be told?
• How should short-notice changes be handled?
• Can appointments be taken in hours rather than full days?
• What temporary flexibility is possible?
• How will treatment-related sickness be recorded?
• What happens after an unsuccessful cycle or pregnancy loss?

Follow up in writing so both sides have the same record.

What should a manager say when an employee discloses treatment?

Start with privacy and practical support:

• “Thank you for trusting me. What would be useful from work?”
• “Who, if anyone, may I share this with?”
• “Let us check the policy and agree how short-notice appointments will work.”
• “You do not need to tell me more medical detail than is necessary.”
• “We can review this plan because treatment dates can change.”

Avoid:

• Asking whose “fault” infertility is
• Giving treatment or lifestyle advice
• Promising a successful outcome
• Telling colleagues without consent
• Assuming a male partner only needs one sample appointment
• Saying the employee should schedule everything outside work

A manager is not a counsellor. They should know how to listen, apply policy, protect privacy and signpost.

Why must men be named in workplace fertility support?

Gender-neutral wording can include men in theory while leaving them invisible in practice. Male employees may have their own diagnosis, tests, procedures or treatment, and partners may be carrying grief and practical responsibility.

Support should mention:

• Semen analysis and repeat testing
• Urology or andrology appointments
• Surgical sperm retrieval
• Testosterone or cancer-related fertility preservation
• Providing a sample for IVF or ICSI
• Partner attendance at treatment
• Donor conception decisions
• Miscarriage and baby loss
• Counselling and peer support

Do not use unverified claims that a precise percentage of all infertility is “male factor”. The policy case does not depend on a statistic: male employees and partners are affected and need an explicit route to support.

What are quick wins for employers?

1. Add fertility treatment to existing leave and wellbeing pages.
2. Name a confidential HR contact.
3. Give managers a one-page conversation guide.
4. Confirm whether partners are included.
5. Allow appointments to be taken in hours.
6. Remove unnecessary evidence requirements.
7. Add pregnancy-loss and unsuccessful-treatment support.
8. Link to specialist external resources.
9. Ask employees privately what is missing.
10. Commit to a date for a complete policy review.

Quick wins should lead to a consistent policy, not become a permanent substitute for one.

How should an organisation measure whether the policy works?

Track information proportionately and anonymously where possible:

• Awareness of the policy
• Manager confidence
• Use of leave and flexibility
• Employee experience of privacy and support
• Retention and absence patterns
• Differences by gender, ethnicity, family type or job level where data are sufficient and safe
• Complaints and recurring points of confusion

Low uptake does not prove there is no need. It may mean employees do not trust confidentiality or cannot find the policy.

What do Becky Kearns and Natalie Silverman discuss in the podcast?

The episode explores the emotional strain of treatment at work, inconsistent manager responses, inclusive policy design, support for men and resources from Fertility Matters at Work. Shaun and Ciaran also share their experiences of deciding whether to disclose fertility problems at work.

Before publication:

• Confirm Becky and Natalie’s current titles and organisation description
• Verify all quotations against the episode
• Obtain approval for the edited summary and biographies
• Check every Fertility Matters at Work resource link
• Do not imply its preferred policy is a statutory requirement
• Add the specific episode link rather than only the podcast show page if available

The live copy contains a grammatical error in “Fertility Matter’s at Work’s appearance”. Use the registered or approved organisation name consistently: Fertility Matters at Work.

Questions for employers

• Can an employee find the policy without disclosing first?
• Are patients and partners both included?
• Is leave paid, and can it be used in hours?
• Will treatment-related sickness trigger attendance action?
• What support follows an unsuccessful cycle or loss?
• Are managers trained to protect confidentiality?
• Does the policy cover donor conception, surrogacy and fertility preservation?
• How do we know employees experience the policy consistently?

The most important thing to remember

The law is a floor, not a complete fertility-support policy. Employees need predictable leave, privacy and managers who know what to do; employers benefit from clarity, retention and trust. Support should cover men and partners explicitly and should never depend on winning the line manager lottery.

Read How to Talk About Infertility at Work for disclosure scripts, or join The Male Fertility Hub community.

Sources and resources

• Acas: IVF treatment and pregnancy at work
  https://www.acas.org.uk/pregnancy-at-work/ivf-treatment
• Acas: Antenatal appointments
  https://www.acas.org.uk/pregnancy-at-work/antenatal-appointments
• Acas: Time off for medical appointments
  https://www.acas.org.uk/time-off-for-medical-appointments
• GOV.UK: Pregnant employees’ rights
  https://www.gov.uk/working-when-pregnant-your-rights
• Fertility Matters at Work: Free resource library
  https://fertilitymattersatwork.com/free-resource-library/
• The Male Fertility Podcast
  https://open.spotify.com/show/52eex3fLgBRaeebjbtqd8a

This article provides general UK workplace information, not legal advice. Rights vary by employment status, circumstances and nation; check current official guidance.