[UK] Failing to support staff through IVF could incur £217m in hidden costs

In the UK, new research estimates that employers who fail to give formal support to employees undergoing fertility treatments could be losing £217.3m a year in sick leave, lost productivity and resignations, The Guardian reports.

The campaign group Fertility Matters at Work estimated that companies without fertility leave pay £35,317 per affected employee, compared with a cost of £388 for 10 days’ paid leave for those with a clear fertility policy in place.

“Employees currently have no legal right to take paid time off work for fertility treatment,” Alice Macdonald - the Labour MP for Norwich North - told The Guardian. Ms Macdonald was reportedly due to raise the findings in a 10-minute rule bill in parliament on November 4, in which she will reportedly propose introducing a statutory right to paid time off for fertility appointments.

She said, “A change in the law is not just a moral imperative but an economic one. The current situation is bad for our society, bad for our economy and bad for people who want to start or grow their family and require extra medical support to do so.”

According to Fertility Matters at Work’s calculations, employers lost £53.8m each year through sick leave for appointments, typically taken by 63 per cent of employees undergoing fertility treatment and usually to conceal the procedure, and up to £27.8m in lost productivity, with 73 per cent of employees undergoing fertility treatment saying their performance had suffered. 

Employers reportedly pay an average of £30,614 to recruit a replacement for an employee who leaves due to lack of support (the experience of 6 per cent), while the Treasury loses £47.9m in unpaid leave and resignations.

The report estimates that providing 10 days’ paid fertility leave costs £388, and is cheaper than providing five days, which costs £434, thanks to productivity gains from carefully planned absence.

Becky Kearns - chief executive and co-founder of Fertility Matters at Work - said, “Most businesses are choosing the expensive option without realising it, and employees are paying the price in lost careers and stalled opportunities.”

A government spokesperson said, “We have set out our immediate priorities for reforming employment law in the plan to make work pay, which includes supporting those balancing work with treatment.

“We are strengthening the right to flexible working in our employment rights bill, which will make it easier for employees and employers to agree arrangements that support attendance at medical appointments, including those for IVF.”

Source: The Guardian

(Quotes via original reporting)

In the UK, new research estimates that employers who fail to give formal support to employees undergoing fertility treatments could be losing £217.3m a year in sick leave, lost productivity and resignations, The Guardian reports.

The campaign group Fertility Matters at Work estimated that companies without fertility leave pay £35,317 per affected employee, compared with a cost of £388 for 10 days’ paid leave for those with a clear fertility policy in place.

“Employees currently have no legal right to take paid time off work for fertility treatment,” Alice Macdonald - the Labour MP for Norwich North - told The Guardian. Ms Macdonald was reportedly due to raise the findings in a 10-minute rule bill in parliament on November 4, in which she will reportedly propose introducing a statutory right to paid time off for fertility appointments.

She said, “A change in the law is not just a moral imperative but an economic one. The current situation is bad for our society, bad for our economy and bad for people who want to start or grow their family and require extra medical support to do so.”

According to Fertility Matters at Work’s calculations, employers lost £53.8m each year through sick leave for appointments, typically taken by 63 per cent of employees undergoing fertility treatment and usually to conceal the procedure, and up to £27.8m in lost productivity, with 73 per cent of employees undergoing fertility treatment saying their performance had suffered. 

Employers reportedly pay an average of £30,614 to recruit a replacement for an employee who leaves due to lack of support (the experience of 6 per cent), while the Treasury loses £47.9m in unpaid leave and resignations.

The report estimates that providing 10 days’ paid fertility leave costs £388, and is cheaper than providing five days, which costs £434, thanks to productivity gains from carefully planned absence.

Becky Kearns - chief executive and co-founder of Fertility Matters at Work - said, “Most businesses are choosing the expensive option without realising it, and employees are paying the price in lost careers and stalled opportunities.”

A government spokesperson said, “We have set out our immediate priorities for reforming employment law in the plan to make work pay, which includes supporting those balancing work with treatment.

“We are strengthening the right to flexible working in our employment rights bill, which will make it easier for employees and employers to agree arrangements that support attendance at medical appointments, including those for IVF.”

Source: The Guardian

(Quotes via original reporting)