Legal Reference - Not Legal Advice
IVF Workplace Rights UK: Law Tracker
Tracking the Fertility Treatment (Right to Time Off) Bill, Employment Rights Act 2025 implementation, and your current rights under the Equality Act 2010.
Right Now
Your Rights Right Now
Four points cover most situations. Each is the commonly described position, not a guarantee for your own case.
From Embryo Transfer
Pregnancy and maternity protections under the Equality Act 2010 are generally taken to apply from the point of embryo transfer. This is the commonly described position, but legal advice is fact-specific; for your situation, ACAS or an employment solicitor are the right port of call.
Reasonable Adjustments
Where fertility treatment effects meet the disability threshold (substantial and long-term adverse effect on day-to-day activities), employers must consider reasonable adjustments under s.20.
Pregnancy-Related Absence
Absence related to pregnancy (including miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, and complications) is generally protected during the protected period under the Equality Act 2010 and should not normally be counted in sickness triggers during that time. For employees entitled to maternity leave, the protected period runs to the end of that leave.
The two-week rule applies where there is no such entitlement. For specific situations, ACAS or an employment solicitor can advise.
No Statutory Fertility Leave - Yet
There is currently no specific statutory right to fertility treatment leave. The Fertility Treatment (Right to Time Off) Bill is seeking to change this.
What Has Changed
Legislative Timeline
Bills, Acts, court decisions and guidance that shape fertility treatment at work, newest first.
November 2025In Progress
Fertility Treatment (Right to Time Off) Bill Introduced
Private Members' Bill proposing statutory paid leave for fertility treatment. Introduced to Parliament.
View on Parliament.ukOctober 2025Passed
Employment Rights Act 2025 Receives Royal Assent
Major employment law reform covering day-one rights, sick pay changes, and zero-hours contracts. Does not include fertility-specific provisions, but introduces Equality Action Plans: employers with 250 or more employees must publish action on the gender pay gap and menopause support, voluntary from April 2026 and mandatory from spring 2027.
2026 to 2027Coming
Employment Rights Act Implementation Timeline
Phased rollout of ERA provisions. Equality Action Plans have been voluntary since April 2026 and become mandatory in spring 2027 for employers with 250 or more employees.
OngoingCurrent Law
Equality Act 2010 - Fertility Treatment Protections
No specific fertility leave right exists in UK law. However, Equality Act protections apply: pregnancy-related discrimination (from embryo transfer), disability discrimination (where treatment effects meet the threshold), and indirect sex discrimination.
2008Passed
Mayr v Flöckner - European Court Precedent
The European Court of Justice held that dismissing a woman because she is undergoing IVF, in the period between egg collection and embryo transfer, can amount to direct sex discrimination. This case underpins the treatment-stage protections described below.
2019Passed
Karavadra v BJ Cheese Packaging - ET Decision
An Employment Tribunal upheld a sex discrimination claim from an employee dismissed after requesting time off for IVF. Treatment-related requests engage Equality Act protections even though there is no specific fertility leave right.
2023Passed
CIPD Publishes Fertility Workplace Guidance
First major HR body to publish detailed guidance on supporting employees through fertility treatment, investigations, and loss.
Stay Current
Get Notified When the Law Changes
We will email you when we publish an update on any of these. Nothing else.
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