Time off work for IVF treatment
No guaranteed IVF appointment leave does not mean no rights. Check how to get time off, when sick pay applies and what to do if your employer punishes you for treatment.
There is no dedicated legal right to time off work for IVF appointments in the UK. That gap can cost you wages or holiday. But appointment leave, sickness and discrimination follow different rules. Your employer cannot treat them as the same thing.
- No right
- to dedicated statutory IVF appointment leave
- £123.25
- maximum weekly SSP from 6 April 2026
- Day 1
- SSP starts on your first qualifying sickness day
- 2 weeks
- pregnancy protection after learning a transfer failed
Can you get time off work for IVF treatment?
Acas confirms there is no legal right to paid time off for IVF appointments. There is no dedicated statutory entitlement to unpaid IVF appointment leave either. Check your contract and workplace policies first. Employers should treat IVF appointments like other medical appointments, and treatment-related sickness like other sickness.
An IVF appointment is not automatically an antenatal appointment. Antenatal rights apply during pregnancy. Before then, your contract or policy usually decides whether appointment time is paid, unpaid or available at all. Discrimination law and reasonable-adjustment duties can still affect the decision.
If there is no fertility policy, check the medical-appointments clause. You can also ask for annual leave, agreed unpaid leave, a shift swap, time to make up hours or a flexible-working arrangement. A right to request flexibility is not a right to have it accepted. Get agreement rather than assuming an appointment letter authorises you to miss a shift.
- Check the policy. Search your handbook or staff app for fertility leave, medical appointments and sickness. If unclear, ask your manager.
- Ask for the appointment. Give the date and notice available. Ask about paid policy leave, a shift swap, adjusted hours, holiday or unpaid leave. Get the answer in writing.
- Keep records. Save requests, replies, rotas and pay records. Ask the clinic what evidence it can provide without sharing unnecessary detail.
What to write to your manager or rota contact
“I need time off for a fertility treatment appointment. Please confirm whether the fertility or medical-appointments policy covers it, whether the time will be paid and how it will be recorded. The clinic may change the timing at short notice. If policy leave is not available, can we agree adjusted hours or a shift swap? I can provide appointment confirmation.”
What is fertility treatment leave, and is it paid?
Fertility treatment leave is time off an employer offers for treatment appointments under its own policy. It is not a statutory leave category. It may be paid or unpaid, contractual or discretionary. A benefit advertised as “fertility support” does not tell you how much time off you get.
Check who qualifies, the days or hours available, the evidence required and whether the policy covers partners, donor treatment and surrogacy. Ask separately about appointment leave and sickness: a cap on policy leave does not decide whether you are fit to work.
How much time off work might you need for IVF?
Acas says a full IVF cycle takes around three to six weeks. That does not mean three to six weeks off work. Appointment times and recovery needs vary. Ask the clinic which dates it can confirm, which may change and what recovery your job could require. A shift on a care-home floor is not the same as a day at a desk.
Example: the holiday cost of one cycle
If six appointments each need half a working day, you use three days’ holiday. Two such cycles use six days. A worker with a regular five-day week has at least 5.6 weeks’ paid statutory holiday, or 28 days including any bank holidays counted towards that entitlement. Six days is about 21% of it. A regular three-day-a-week worker gets 16.8 days; six days would use about 36%, if all those appointments fell on working days.
| Option | Paid? | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Employer fertility leave | Depends on the policy | Days or hours available, eligible treatments and partner cover |
| Medical-appointments policy | Depends on the policy | Whether IVF is covered and who approves leave |
| Annual leave | Yes | Your balance and the process for agreeing short-notice dates |
| Unpaid leave | No | Employer agreement and how the time is recorded |
| Making up time or adjusted hours | Usually unchanged if total hours stay the same | Written agreement on shifts, hours and pay |
| Sick leave | SSP or company sick pay if eligible | You must be unfit for work, not simply attending an appointment |
Time off for dependants is for emergencies, not planned IVF appointments. It may cover a sudden complication affecting a dependant partner, but it is not a way to book leave for a transfer.
Which parts of IVF can you take off sick?
You can take sick leave when treatment makes you unfit for work, not simply because an appointment falls during your shift. That can include side effects, recovery from egg collection or treatment-related mental ill health. There is no fixed block of sick leave for every IVF cycle.
| Treatment stage | How to cover the absence |
|---|---|
| Scans, consultations or other appointments while fit for work | Use policy leave or agree holiday, unpaid leave or adjusted hours. Attendance alone is not sickness. |
| Side effects that make you unfit for work | Report sickness under your workplace procedure. |
| Recovery from egg collection | Use sick leave for the time you are unfit. Ask the clinic about recovery for the work you do. |
| Embryo transfer and the wait for a test | For the procedure itself, check appointment leave. Report sickness if unfit; waiting for a test alone is not sickness. Acas pregnancy discrimination guidance applies from transfer. |
| Physical or mental ill health after an unsuccessful transfer | Report sickness if unfit. The two-week discrimination protection is not an automatic two weeks off. |
Follow your workplace’s sickness-reporting rules. You can self-certify for the first seven calendar days and need a fit note if you are off for more than seven days. An appointment confirmation supports a leave request; it does not by itself establish that you are unfit for work.
How should fertility treatment absence be recorded?
Ask for appointment time and sickness to be recorded accurately and separately. Keep the approval, sickness report and pay record. Before transfer, IVF-related sickness is not automatically exempt from attendance rules, although sex or disability discrimination protections may apply. The treatment stage matters, especially if your employer uses absence to trigger a warning.
Will you get sick pay for IVF recovery?
The SSP changes that took effect on 6 April 2026 removed waiting days and the minimum earnings threshold. They apply across the UK, including Northern Ireland. You must still meet the other eligibility conditions.
| Rule | Position now |
|---|---|
| Start of payment | First qualifying sickness day, with no three-day waiting period |
| Minimum earnings | No lower earnings limit |
| Weekly rate | Lower of 80% of average weekly earnings or £123.25 |
| Daily calculation | Weekly rate divided by the number of qualifying days that week |
| Maximum duration | Up to 28 weeks, subject to the rules on linked sickness absences |
Example: sick pay after egg collection
Mara’s average weekly earnings are £600 and she has five qualifying days a week. She needs two qualifying days off to recover. At 80%, her earnings would give £480, so the £123.25 weekly maximum applies. £123.25 divided by five is £24.65 a day. She receives £49.30 SSP for the two days, assuming she meets the other conditions and has no company sick pay.
Jess earns an average £120 a week across five short working days and is unfit for four qualifying days. Her weekly SSP is 80% of £120, or £96. That is £19.20 a day and £76.80 for four days. Before 6 April 2026, she was below the £125 weekly earnings threshold and would have received no SSP. Her gain is £76.80, not a payment calculated using the old flat rate.
Company sick pay may replace more of your wages, but it usually includes SSP rather than being paid entirely on top of it. Check your scheme. For the eligibility rules and longer absences, read our Statutory Sick Pay guide and sick leave guide.
If an underlying condition is a disability
Infertility does not automatically make you disabled under the Equality Act 2010. An underlying condition such as endometriosis or PCOS, or treatment-related depression, can qualify if it has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on normal day-to-day activities. Your employer may then have to make reasonable adjustments, which can include adjustments to hours, appointment arrangements or absence-management rules. That protection can apply before egg collection.
What legal rights protect you during IVF treatment?
No dedicated appointment leave does not give your employer a free hand to punish you for IVF. In Great Britain, sex discrimination protection can apply before pregnancy, and Acas pregnancy discrimination guidance applies from embryo transfer. Disability protections may apply at any stage. These protections do not create an automatic right to every appointment off.
Before egg collection
Pregnancy discrimination protection does not apply simply because you have started IVF. Sex discrimination law can still apply. For example, refusing you leave for IVF while granting a man leave for a comparable medical procedure could raise a direct sex discrimination issue. The circumstances must be comparable; a different decision alone does not prove discrimination.
A blanket attendance rule may also raise indirect sex discrimination issues if it particularly disadvantages women and your employer cannot justify it. An employer is not automatically required to grant every IVF appointment request.
Egg collection to immediate embryo transfer
In Mayr v Bäckerei, decided in 2008, the European Court considered dismissal linked to the advanced stage of IVF between egg collection and immediate embryo transfer. Such treatment can amount to direct sex discrimination because those procedures affect women. The Employment Appeal Tribunal considered this protection in Sahota v Home Office in 2009, involving IVF-related sickness absence.
This is not a blanket exemption from attendance rules throughout every cycle. The reason for the treatment, the procedure involved and its timing matter. Frozen embryo transfers or cycles without an immediate transfer need advice on their own facts.
From embryo transfer
Acas says you have the same rights as a pregnant worker at the embryo-transfer stage. It also says you are protected against pregnancy discrimination if your employer knows you might be pregnant. You do not have to wait for a positive pregnancy test to raise a concern.
Embryo transfer and implantation are different stages. Transfer places the embryo in the uterus; implantation happens later if it attaches to the uterine lining. For workplace decisions, follow the Acas guidance from transfer rather than assuming that the wait for a test is unprotected. Section 18 of the Equality Act 2010 protects against unfavourable treatment because of pregnancy or pregnancy-related illness during the protected period.
Once you are pregnant, employees have reasonable paid time off for antenatal care from the first day of employment. Agency workers have a separate entitlement after a 12-week qualifying period. Other workers do not have the same statutory right, although employers can offer it. See maternity leave and pay and pregnancy discrimination at work.
Can your partner get time off work for IVF?
There is no statutory IVF appointment-leave entitlement for a partner attending scans, egg collection or embryo transfer. Check whether the employer’s policy includes accompaniment, same-sex partners and donor treatment. If you are undergoing a procedure yourself, your own appointment and sickness arrangements apply.
After pregnancy begins, eligible employees have a separate right to accompany someone to two antenatal appointments, unpaid, for up to 6.5 hours each. That is a maximum of 13 hours per pregnancy. Under section 57ZE of the Employment Rights Act 1996, eligible relationships include a spouse, civil partner, qualifying cohabiting partner and the child’s father or other qualifying parent. The employer can ask for a signed declaration. Agency workers can qualify under separate rules after their qualifying period.
IVF appointments
- No dedicated statutory appointment leave
- Use a workplace policy or agree other time off
- Sick leave applies if treatment makes you unfit
Antenatal appointments
- Pregnant employee has reasonable paid time off
- Eligible accompanying employee has two unpaid appointments
- Each accompanying appointment allows up to 6.5 hours
Surrogacy does not give intended parents the surrogate’s pregnancy protections. But it is wrong to say all surrogacy-related leave is an employer benefit. An employee who qualifies as a potential applicant for a parental order can take the statutory unpaid antenatal accompaniment leave. Intended parents may also qualify for adoption or paternity leave and pay. The surrogate has their own pregnancy and maternity rights. Our surrogacy leave guide explains the separate entitlements.
Can you change your hours for fertility treatment?
In England, Scotland and Wales, employees can make a statutory flexible-working request from their first day in a job. You can make two requests in any 12 months. The employer must decide within two months, unless you agree a longer period, and consult you before refusing. A refusal must use a permitted business reason.
That timetable is too slow for a scan tomorrow. Ask early, and discuss a temporary informal arrangement as well as the statutory route. Agree the period it covers and when your usual hours resume.
- Put the request in writing. Date it, say it is a statutory request, specify the change and its start date, and state whether and when you have made previous requests.
- Ask for something workable. Suggest later starts on scan days, shift swaps or homeworking where your job allows it. Discuss recovery separately; being at home does not make you fit to work after sedation.
- Agree the details. Record hours, pay, how much notice you can give and whether the arrangement is temporary. Proposing cover may help, but you are not legally required to explain the business impact in your application.
- Get the decision. If the employer refuses, ask for the business reason in writing and consider its appeal process. Do not rely on an unanswered request as permission to change your hours.
Example: asking for a temporary arrangement
“Treatment may require morning appointments at short notice. Could we agree later starts on appointment days for the next six weeks, with the hours made up on agreed afternoons? Appointment confirmation can follow as soon as the clinic provides it. Please confirm how we should record appointment time and any separate sickness absence.”
Can you take time off after failed IVF or pregnancy loss?
If you learn that an embryo transfer was unsuccessful, Acas says pregnancy discrimination protection continues for two weeks after you find out. That period is protection against discrimination, not two weeks of paid leave. A cycle cancelled before transfer does not automatically attract the same pregnancy protection.
If you are physically or mentally unfit for work, use the sickness-reporting process. If you need time away but are fit for work, ask about compassionate leave, holiday or unpaid leave. You can also ask for counselling through an employee assistance programme if your employer offers one.
Under that planned scheme, two weeks for an employee whose average working pattern is three days a week would mean six days’ leave. Your employer can already offer more generous leave or pay under its own policy.
Can you get IVF financial assistance or fertility benefits at work?
Ask what your employer actually offers. Fertility leave, treatment funding or insurance, and counselling are different kinds of support. A scheme offering one does not establish that you have the others. In the November 2025 Commons debate on fertility leave, MPs named Centrica, Cadent Gas and Aviva among employers offering fertility leave or support. That does not tell you what your own scheme covers.
- Time off: ask whether appointment leave is paid, how much is available and whether partners qualify.
- Financial assistance: ask whether the scheme includes treatment funding or insurance, and request the eligibility rules and limits in writing.
- Emotional support: ask whether an employee assistance programme offers counselling, including if a transfer fails.
Do not accept “we have a fertility support programme” as the answer to whether you will lose a day’s pay. Get the leave and funding terms separately. An employer benefit does not replace your sickness rights or discrimination protections.
Employment status and Northern Ireland
Your rights depend on whether you are an employee, worker or self-employed, not simply on your job title. In Great Britain, employees have the statutory flexible-working and antenatal rights described above. Ordinary unfair dismissal generally requires two years’ service now, with a reduction to six months scheduled for dismissals from 1 January 2027. Dismissal because of pregnancy needs no qualifying service, and discrimination claims have no service threshold.
Workers who are not employees can still have Equality Act protection. Zero-hours and casual staff may be employees, so do not assume their contract label settles eligibility. SSP uses its own employment eligibility rules; agency workers may qualify through their agency. A self-employed label does not automatically exclude discrimination protection either: a contract to perform work personally can fall within the Equality Act’s employment provisions. Genuinely independent businesses do not have employee leave rights or SSP.
The Great Britain rules apply in England, Scotland and Wales. Northern Ireland has separate employment and discrimination law. Its fertility-treatment protections arise under the Sex Discrimination (Northern Ireland) Order 1976, not the Equality Act. Northern Ireland guidance describes similar sex and pregnancy protections, but a claim needs advice under its own legislation. The April 2026 SSP changes apply there.
Do not apply the Great Britain flexible-working procedure, tribunal reforms or planned bereavement leave automatically to Northern Ireland. Ordinary unfair dismissal there generally requires one year’s service. See employment law in Northern Ireland for the separate rules.
Where can you get legal advice if IVF leave is refused?
Ask which policy your employer is applying and get its reason in writing. Refusing discretionary appointment leave is not automatically unlawful. A decision motivated by your sex, pregnancy or a qualifying disability is a different matter. Keep a dated record of requests, approvals, comments, sickness and treatment stages. Get advice before resigning.
If you are in a union, contact your representative before a meeting or grievance. Depending on your workplace, UNISON or Unite may represent care and health staff; USDAW retail workers; Unite, GMB or IWGB hospitality, warehouse and delivery workers. If you are not represented, ask Citizens Advice or a local law centre. Acas explains early conciliation; notify it within the deadline even if a grievance is open. For suspected minimum-wage underpayment, use the GOV.UK HMRC complaint route. Wage theft is wage theft. For discrimination, the Equality and Human Rights Commission provides guidance.
Raise the issue with your manager, HR or union, then use the grievance procedure if needed. In Great Britain, Acas says the time limit for most tribunal claims is six months minus one day if the problem happened on or after 1 October 2026. For most problems before that date, it remains three months minus one day. In Scotland, breach-of-contract claims change on 9 November 2026 instead. Northern Ireland has its own process and deadlines.
Example: the new tribunal deadline
For a single discriminatory act on 1 October 2026, the ordinary six-month-minus-one-day deadline is 31 March 2027, before any early-conciliation adjustment. An act on 30 September 2026 ordinarily has a 29 December 2026 deadline. Multiple incidents can make the calculation more complicated, so get advice rather than choosing the later date yourself.
Notify Acas within the applicable limit before bringing a claim. Timely notification pauses the clock for early conciliation. A grievance or appeal does not pause it. Our employment tribunal guide explains the process.
Are UK IVF leave laws changing?
The Employment Rights Act 2025 does not create a general right to IVF appointment leave. A separate fertility time-off proposal was introduced in Parliament in November 2025. A proposal is not an entitlement.
Pregnancy-loss leave and stronger flexible-working refusal rules are planned, not rights you can use today. Your appointment arrangements still depend on the policies and existing protections explained above.
IVF leave and absence: questions people ask
Do you have to tell your employer about IVF?
Acas says you do not have to tell your employer at embryo transfer, although it may help you get support. You must still follow leave and sickness procedures. If your employer does not know you might be pregnant, that can affect a pregnancy discrimination claim. Consider telling a named manager or HR contact and asking them to limit who receives the information.
Is time off work for IVF paid?
Appointment leave is paid only if your contract or employer’s policy provides for it, or you use paid holiday. Making up the hours may preserve pay if agreed. If treatment makes you unfit for work, eligible SSP or company sick pay is separate from appointment leave.
Can you take sick leave after embryo transfer?
Yes, if you are unfit for work. Transfer does not automatically entitle you to a fixed period of sick leave or the whole wait for a pregnancy test off. Follow the sickness procedure and ask the clinic about recovery for your job. Acas says pregnancy discrimination protection applies from transfer if your employer knows you might be pregnant.
Can your employer discipline you for fertility treatment absence?
There is no blanket right to miss work for appointments without agreement. But sex, pregnancy or disability discrimination can make a warning or dismissal unlawful. Ask for the absence record and reason for the decision. Get advice from your union, Citizens Advice or a law centre, and do not let a grievance run down your tribunal deadline.
Can your partner come to IVF appointments during working hours?
There is no dedicated statutory right. Their employer may offer fertility leave or agree holiday, unpaid leave or adjusted hours. Once you are pregnant, an eligible employee can accompany you to two antenatal appointments, unpaid, for up to 6.5 hours each.
Do you get two weeks off if an embryo transfer fails?
Not automatically under the law currently in force. Acas’s two-week period is pregnancy discrimination protection, not leave. Use sick leave if you are unfit, or ask for compassionate leave, holiday or unpaid leave. Separate unpaid pregnancy-loss leave is planned for Great Britain but is not available now.
Sources
- IVF treatment and work, Acas
- Antenatal appointments, Acas
- Time off for medical appointments, Acas
- Holiday entitlement, GOV.UK
- Statutory sick pay changes 2026, Acas
- Rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027, GOV.UK
- Equality Act 2010, section 18, legislation.gov.uk
- Sahota v Home Office, UKEAT/0342/09, BAILII
- Employment Rights Act 1996, section 57ZE, legislation.gov.uk
- Surrogacy: legal rights of parents and surrogates, GOV.UK
- Applying for flexible working, GOV.UK
- Flexible working consultation: government response, GOV.UK, September 2026
- Bereavement and pregnancy-loss leave: government response, GOV.UK, September 2026
- Sick pay rights, nidirect
- Fertility treatment and the workplace, nibusinessinfo
- Employment tribunal time limits, Acas
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- Fertility Treatment (Right to Time Off) debate, Hansard, 4 November 2025
- Fertility treatment in the workplace, CIPD/YouGov, May 2023
- Fertility in Focus, Fertility Network UK and Fertifa, November 2023
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