Why IVF and miscarriage still aren't properly supported at work

"Fertility treatment, pregnancy loss and the menopause are, in the words of one consultant, fundamentally different beasts. They cannot be cleared by a course of antibiotics. They are not, in any meaningful sense, temporary. And, crucially for employers, the cost of getting the response wrong is no longer simply a matter of compassion, it is a matter of retention, productivity and, increasingly, legal exposure."

"The conventional model of workplace illness assumes a hurdle that the body eventually clears. IVF, miscarriage and menopause do not behave that way. They are tied to identity, to the future a person had imagined for themselves, and to a biological transition that can play out over months or years rather than days."

"A miscarriage is, in effect, a bereavement requiring emotional processing alongside physical recovery. IVF involves systemic hormonal shifts that are unpredictable in both timing and intensity. The menopause, increasingly recognised as a workplace issue in its own right, brings vasomotor and cognitive symptoms that can persist for the better part of a decade. None of these is a short-term medical issue, and treating them as such is the first mistake too many British employers continue to make."

"Anyone who has sat through a difficult conversation at work knows the British instinct to reach for the silver lining. "At least you can try again." "Everything happens for a reason." "At least it was early on." Said with the best of intentions, these phrases can land with extraordinary crue"

British workplaces have often measured wellbeing through days off for temporary illnesses, using sick notes and return-to-work forms. Clinical evidence and employment tribunal cases indicate that this approach does not fit reproductive health challenges. Fertility treatment, pregnancy loss, and menopause cannot be resolved like infections and are not meaningfully temporary. These conditions affect identity, future plans, and biological transitions that can last months or years. Miscarriage involves emotional processing alongside physical recovery, IVF includes unpredictable hormonal shifts, and menopause can cause vasomotor and cognitive symptoms for many years. Treating these issues as short-term medical problems leads to poor responses, affecting retention, productivity, and legal exposure.

Read at Business Matters