Workers should be offered ‘fertility leave’ in recognition of the struggles people face when trying to have children, according to the Labour Party.

Research carried out by Sims IVF has found one in six Irish couples will experience fertility issues while one in five pregnancies end in early miscarriage.  

Meanwhile, research from Excel Recruitment suggests only four-in-ten employers would support a fertility leave – which would give paid leave to anyone attending appointments and procedures related to fertility treatment.

Labour Senator Marie Sherlock told Newstalk Breakfast fertility is a “health and workplace issue”.  

“The Government has recognised that there is an issue with regards to recognising early miscarriages within the workplace,” she said. 

“Every week, I have women contacting me saying that they are going through fertility treatment and the enormous struggles they are facing.” 

Flexibility in the workplace 

Senator Sherlock said employers need to be more understanding of what fertility treatments actually entail.  

“This isn't a one-off, go out for a day procedure,” she said. “This is a whole series of tests and scans that could go on for many days.” 

She said certain jobs lead to more issues when trying to attend fertility treatments.  

“For those people who've got flexibility in their workplace, who can maybe start the working day two hours earlier or later, that's one thing,” she said.  

“But if we put ourselves in the shoes of teachers, of nurses, of anybody who's in a client or a customer-facing role, they don't have that flexibility.”

Protecting men and women 

Senator Sherlock said this proposal is for men and women as fertility leave can ensure “dignity and respect for all involved”. 

She said larger companies are “already ahead of the curve and recognise the importance” of fertility leave, but small and medium-sized should be given the opportunity to do the same.  

“Why should we be restricting [the opportunity to get fertility treatment] to only those who can afford to take unpaid leave?” she said. 

“The people who come up to me, many have exhausted all their annual leave and sick pay.” 

Labour plan

Senator Sherlock said this could benefit the “small number” of couples who go through repeated rounds of IVF treatment – and will have a huge positive impact.  

“We need to ensure that we're inclusive," she said. "We need to ensure that we're recognising the reality of the country we have, of the workforce that we have.”