Hi no sorry we don't, but just wanted to say that's an amazing thing to do and so progressive. Infertility is on the rise and will affect more and more couples/singles as time goes on. Could possibly tie it in with Maternity/Paternity/Adoption leave or maybe a compassionate leave policy.

Hi Polly, I can't offer any specific advice but did come across this webpage today which may give you a starter for ten: fertilitynetworkuk.org/.../

Hi Polly,

A couple of previous threads that you may find helpful, too.

 IVF/Infertility, Surrogacy and Carers Policy 

 IVF and fertility support 

 RE: Same Sex couple, IVF and time off 

In reply to Steve Bridger:

We have a reference to IVF in our Leave of Absence Policy

https://www.hw.ac.uk/uk/services/docs/hr/policies/OverarchingLeaveofAbsencePolicy.pdf

Thanks all! I've put a paragraph in our maternity policy and also special leave having run it past a few people who I know have had IVF - I asked them where they would look!

Rather than starting a new thread I thought I'd piggy-back on this recent discussion to flag our new report on workplace support for employees experiencing fertility challenges, investigations or treatment.

https://www.cipd.org/en/knowledge/reports/fertility-challenges/

Key findings

• Just over a quarter (27%) of employers have a policy in place concerning fertility treatment, while 40% don’t have a formal policy and don’t plan to introduce one. 
• 46% of employees said they felt neither supported or unsupported at work while having fertility challenges. Just under a fifth said they felt quite or very unsupported.
• Almost half of employees (47%) didn’t tell their manager or HR they were experiencing fertility challenges. 
• Over half of organisations (56%) providing some kind of support had not their told employees about it. 
• The top three most helpful forms of support reported by employees were paid time off to attend appointments; understanding from managers; and paid compassionate leave.
• Almost one in five (19%) employees said they had considered leaving their job because of their experience at work in relation to fertility challenges, investigation or treatment.

Based on these findings, the CIPD has developed some key principles to provide effective support.

CIPD good practice principles for workplace support

1. Raise awareness across the organisation about the need for fertility challenges, investigations or treatment to be recognised as an important workplace wellbeing issue.
2. Create an open, inclusive and supportive culture.
3. Develop an organisational framework to support employees, including specific policy provision.
4. Manage absence and leave with compassion and flexibility, considering the potential impacts on both partners.
5. Equip line managers to support people with empathy and understanding. 

Use our practical guidance to support people professionals, managers and colleagues to apply these principles in your workplace.

In reply to Steve Bridger:

Thanks Steve. This is awesome.

Just one thing to think about is perhaps using the term Fertility Treatment instead of IVF specifically. Some people go for other types of treatment such as Artificial Insemination.

Yes we have added fertility support for all employees regardless of their involvement (so that it includes same sex couples and surrogacy) we provide 3 days leave for treatment per annum. I added it to our leave policy that details all the various types of leave. I sold it to the CEO by saying the take up wont be huge but the support we are showing will really resonate with many people. One of our senior team is on a fertility journey and kindly did a video about how he and his wife are coping. Hope that helps.

In reply to Polly:

Hi, thanks for your support with this - just a note that adding fertility treatment policies to maternity policies can be a little insensitive to those experiencing difficulties with fertility treatment, as maternity policies are for those already pregnant. It's great if we can keep the two policies separate. Many fertility treatments are not successful. 1 in 5 women in the UK for example remain permanently childless, for a variety of reasons.

With over 70% of IVF being unsuccessful, it's also so important to reference ongoing support for those who end any fertility journey without a baby, and the ongoing difficulties for those people in the workplace. I was so pleased to see CIPD included the link to World Childless Week (https://worldchildlessweek.net/) as part of their support resources for this - terrific job CIPD - but we need to do much more to raise awareness of this unseen and excluded community.