Rebecca Kearns, from Fertility Matters at Work, co-founded the group with two other women after they all experienced their own difficulties undergoing IVF whilst trying to keep afloat in the workplace.
The 39-year-old says providing time off would be a potential benefit of employers, who could save the economy millions in lost productivity.
“What we’re finding is, because there’s 63% taking sick leave, that is having an impact on businesses, there’s a cost for the disruption of this absence.”
She also thinks employers need to be more aware of the toll IVF – which she considers a “significant life event” – can take on their employees.
“You often have a number of very short notice appointments you have to attend, it’s very dependent on how your body is responding to medication.
“But we also know there’s still a huge amount of stigma that surrounds IVF and infertility.
“We receive messages almost daily from people who are struggling with this experience…people taking sick leave to hide treatment, the fact that they’re then triggered on absence procedures and potentially having their performance monitored.
“And it was all because they were going through fertility treatment and just felt unable to say that was what they were going through.”
She says women have also told them they have left jobs and signed non-disclosure agreements as a result of going through IVF.