HR officer Alan Barry explains how to deal with an employee request to take time off work for either IVF treatment or cosmetic surgery.
I am developing a policy on time off for IVF treatment and hope that the following thoughts will help you.
Most medical treatment is ‘elective’ – we choose to go to our doctor and we decide whether or not to undergo the treatment that is available, and in this respect IVF and cosmetic surgery is no different to any other medical intervention.
The real issue isn’t whether it is elective, it’s why it is needed. For ‘cosmetic surgery’ we take the view that if the employee’s GP is willing to recommend treatment on the NHS, the time off is treated as ‘sickness’, even if the surgery is undertaken privately. The logic being that NHS treatment is only available for ‘medical’ problems, whether physical or psychological.
We will probably adopt the same approach for IVF. Employees only undergo IVF if they have a medical problem and although the underlying condition is unlikely to lead to ‘sickness absence’, stress and worry etc will impact on their performance and offering time off for medical treatment that may help relieve this is good for our overall performance.
The medical conditions that may lead to IVF treatment may not be a cause of sickness absence but how many employers sick pay schemes allow them to withhold sick pay for the treatment of other medical conditions that do not lead to sickness absence? If a female employee requiring IVF can show that sick pay was given to a male employee for treatment of a condition that had not led to sickness absence, failure to allow paid time off for IVF could lead to a sex discrimination claim.
As a final thought, how many employers’ sick pay schemes allow them to withhold sick pay if the employee refuses treatment for their condition? If you are prepared to pay sick pay to an employee for an extended period because they decline the treatment that would speed up their return, why withhold it from someone who needs time off for medical treatment just because it is aimed at helping them get pregnant?
