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Workplaces should have formal policies to help staff go through the process fertility treatmentsexperts warned.
The Chartered Management Institute (CMI) said employers risk losing valuable staff without adopting measures to support those struggling conception.
This may include flexible working, paid time off to attend meetings or compassionate leave.
Currently, only 19 percent of the 1,000 managers surveyed by CMI said their organizations have a formal policy regarding fertility treatment for employees, according to reports.
A further 35 per cent of those surveyed revealed there were no plans to introduce one, although six in ten felt these policies were important.
said CMI CEO Ann Francke Guardian: “Fertility treatment is often a very private and unpredictable experience for employees, which presents numerous challenges such as balancing work pressures with last-minute hospital appointments.
“Without professional support from management, the significant stresses of infertility treatment can lead to increased sick leave and retention problems if staff feel they have no choice but to leave or reduce their responsibilities to cope with the impact of treatment.
“Employers risk losing good people by not addressing a growing problem that affects more of our workforce each year.”
The survey followed after a separate report, published last year, found that one in five employees had left their job due to treatment by their employers while undergoing infertility treatment, such as IVF.
A study by Totaljobs and the Fawcett Society found that another third are considering leaving.
According to the NHS, around one in seven couples have difficulty conceiving. However, nearly six in ten people who underwent fertility treatment kept it a secret from their senior colleagues, a 2023 study found.
With more than 90 percent of them needing time off for treatment, this means it is often recorded as sick or unpaid leave.
A white paper submitted to the government this year by the Workplace Fertility Campaign Group warns that the lack of formal rights leaves workplace protections largely at the discretion of individual employers, despite the treatment’s impact being described as “draining physically, logistically, psychologically, socially and financially”.
It argues that the UK should follow Malta, Korea and Japan and explore the development of bespoke employment laws around fertility treatment.
Sharon Martin, from Fertility Network UK, who contributed to the White Paper, helps advise employers on building their fertility policies.
“With the policy in place, employees know immediately what help is available without having to disclose their infertility or treatment if they don’t want to,” she said.