David Saunders
Fertility is one of those words that can make a workplace go oddly quiet, even though it affects more employees than most managers realise. We have policies for pregnancy. We have statutory rights mapped out for maternity and paternity leave. But when it comes to infertility and fertility treatment, many UK workplaces are still operating in a foggy grey area—hoping discretion and good intentions will cover what policy doesn’t.
That disconnect is the starting point for a straight-talking set of comments from Dr Suvir Venkataraman, BEng (Hons), PhD, General Manager at Harley Street Fertility Clinic—and he’s not dressing it up as a niche issue for “other people.” The average age of giving birth is rising, more people are turning to IVF, and employers who think they can ignore fertility at work may soon find it’s a case of when, not if.
In most offices, the baby narrative runs on rails. Pregnancy announcements land like confetti. Antenatal appointments are treated as part of the normal rhythm of working life. And who doesn’t know the scene: someone hovering near a desk, proudly holding up a scan photo while colleagues squint like art critics trying to decode whether the tiny blur has your nose.
But the same workplace can feel brutally isolating for someone who isn’t getting the happy ending. As Dr Venkataraman points out, for employees “for whom getting that positive pregnancy test is so much harder,” being surrounded by celebrations can turn an ordinary week into a private endurance test. And telling the world you can’t have a baby isn’t exactly the sort of Friday-night team-drinks confession anyone is itching to make.
The reality of treatment: appointments, medication, and the risk it won’t work
One reason fertility stays hidden is simple logistics. Treatment can involve multiple appointments and scans. Medication often needs to be taken at specific times. And there’s always the possibility things might not work out—emotionally tough, physically draining, and not exactly compatible with pretending everything is fine in a 9 am meeting.
Yet the business case here is plain. Support people properly and you reduce the performance hit that comes from stress, secrecy, and scrambling. Give employees a workable structure and you reduce disruption for everyone else, too. Fertility at work isn’t a “nice-to-have” wellbeing add-on; it’s an operational reality.
Dr Venkataraman also highlights how reluctant many patients are to talk beyond a small trusted circle—“family members and close friends”—which makes disclosure to a manager or colleagues feel daunting and loaded with risk. That fear doesn’t come from nowhere. People worry they’ll be judged, pitied, gossiped about, or quietly labelled “difficult” for needing time off again.
And this is not limited to heterosexual couples. Same-sex couples and single people building a family can face the same practical pressures and the same emotional weight. Add egg freezing into the mix—whether for social reasons, ahead of cancer treatment, or before a gender transition process—and you’re looking at a broader workplace reality than many policies currently acknowledge.
The fix is not complicated, but it does require leadership
The heart of Dr Venkataraman’s message is that openness changes outcomes—if employees know they can talk without fear of recrimination. Create a safe environment and you foster honesty and trust across the organisation. With planning, structures and policies can be put in place so people can take the time they need without being judged, pitied, or turned into office gossip.
And yes, it means being practical. If someone can’t make a morning meeting because of a scan or recovery, somebody else covers. If the going gets tough, they join a call from home. When they’re back in the office, they make up time—without being treated like they’ve committed a crime for needing medical care.
Dr Venkataraman accepts this is an area where change “doesn’t happen overnight,” but the steps employers can take are clear—and they’re the kind of fundamentals well-run workplaces already apply elsewhere.
What employers can do now to support fertility at work
1) Make “open door” real, not just a poster on the wall
An open-door policy matters only if employees believe they can speak to managers and HR about issues, time off and concerns without embarrassment—or fear of disciplinary action.
2) Train managers and HR properly
Training is vital so managers understand the implications fertility issues can have on employees—female and male—and can respond with consistency rather than guesswork.
3) Build flexibility into appointments and working patterns
Time off for appointments and flexible working patterns reduce stress, and stress is the last thing someone undergoing fertility treatment needs.
4) Introduce protocols for pregnancy announcements and baby visits
This one may sound small until you’ve lived it. Clear workplace protocols for pregnancy and birth announcements—as well as new baby visits—can make a massive difference to the mental health of employees in treatment, or those coming to terms with infertility.
The bottom line: this is coming to a workplace near you
Fertility at work is not a fringe issue, and employers who treat it like one are behind the curve. When people feel ashamed, alone or upset at work, you don’t just lose morale—you lose trust. But when policy meets reality, employees stop feeling they have to choose between their health and their job.
The ask is simple: acknowledge the gap, put sensible structures in place, and let people get on with the hard business of building a family without having to hide in plain sight.
For more information, go to www.hsfc.org
