One in six people are affected by infertility and a quarter of pregnancies end in miscarriage, according to the Society of Occupational Medicine (SOM). This means that fertility challenges are a significant and largely hidden workplace issue.
Yet new research from Fertility Matters at Work reveals that almost two-thirds (63%) of employees are unsure whether their employer even has a fertility policy and almost nine in ten say they have not seen manager training on the subject. The human cost is real: over a third of employees who have undergone fertility treatment have considered leaving their job as a result.
The business case for change is equally stark. An estimated £217 million is lost annually through attrition, absenteeism and reduced productivity which is around £35,317 per employee. By contrast, providing ten days of paid leave for fertility treatment is estimated to cost just £388 per employee. Meanwhile, 86% of employees say they would be more attracted to an employer that offers fertility support.
But having a policy is not enough. Both SOM and Fertility Matters at Work are clear that the deeper problem is cultural.
“Employers often focus on what support is offered, rather than how it is experienced,” said Natalie Silverman, Co-founder & CCO of Fertility Matters at Work. “Even generous fertility benefits can fall short if employees are too afraid to ask for time off, worried their career will suffer, or feel isolated navigating treatment. It’s vital for managers to be trained and for awareness-raising activity to happen at every level.”
The consequences of getting this wrong are not abstract. Amy McKeown, SOM consultant, was made redundant while on leave following a miscarriage. Her experience points to a broader reality: when fertility issues are met with silence, employees feel isolated precisely when they most need support.
“A policy alone cannot create a supportive environment - people do,” McKeown said. “Recognising fertility issues as part of an organisation’s business strategy reaps benefits: improved retention, performance and equity.”
This gap between policy and practice is evident across sectors. In education, Caroline Biddle, a PhD researcher at Manchester Metropolitan University and co-founder of One Full Round, left the teaching profession after undergoing fertility treatment while managing her career. She points to 9,000 women in their 30s who left teaching in 2022-23 as evidence of a wider retention crisis and has since created a free model framework and training programme to help schools implement fertility support policies.
SOM is calling on occupational health professionals to be the bridge between policy and genuine workplace support, equipping managers with the confidence and skills to have difficult conversations and help organisations build environments where employees feel safe to speak up.
“When an employer creates an environment where staff can voice their concerns - whether it’s time off for an appointment, the physical toll of treatment or the emotional weight of loss - they make their employees feel valued and supported,” said Professor Neil Greenberg, President, Society of Occupational Medicine. “And valued employees build loyal, resilient organisations.”
Fertility challenges happen during working lives which makes them, by definition, workplace issues. So employers need to ask themselves not just whether they have a policy, but whether it is clearly communicated, genuinely understood, and backed by a culture in which no employee has to face these challenges alone.
