Time off work for IVF/ICSI

[Amarylline]

We have our first appointment with a fertility specialist in a little over a week, and I'm worried about how I'm going to fit in fertility treatments with work since my husband and I work full time and we have to take a full day off for any appointments because the clinic is in another town. Can anyone else in the UK who's undergone IVF/ICSI give me some insight into how much time it took? Did you tell your work what was going on? I know my work wouldn't allow me any extra time off and I'm so worried I'm going to run out of annual leave doing this and have to quit halfway.

 

[Mrs G]

Hi

Congrats on starting your journey!

I used to take mornings off for scan appointments. I had one during down regs, and then 2 during stims. So overall 3 in the space of about 3 weeks. I then took time off from EC until about 10 days after ET. My clinic said they would sign me off for whole 2ww if I wanted.

I don't think you should have to take leave for things like this. Surely it is medical, at least that is how my employer viewed and I got full pay for the whole time I was off. I don't know if being a teacher and being in a union helped with this?!? You are not obliged to tell them what you are doing but I did told one woman (the one who agrees time off) and she was very sympathetic.

Good luck!

Kath xx

 

[Mrs G]

PS Get your clinic to give you a bit of an idea of how many appointments you'll have and what time scale you're looking at cos all clinics work under a slightly different protocol.

x

 

[rachelle1975]

Hi Hun

Find out what protocol your employer has in place for those undertaking any sort of fertility treatment - also do they allow time off for hospital appts in general etc?

My employer allows 4 hours off for hospital appts and has in place extra allowances for those undertaking ivf etc. They don't give time off for egg collection or for egg transfer so it would mean taking annual leave for me.

Good luck x

 

[lioness168]

Dont start me about work ...I was honest and upfront about needing time off for IVF and it bit me in the butt. I would have been better off not telling them what it was for and just taking them as normal sick days and getting a Drs certificate for those days (as I have heaps of sick leave up my sleeve anyway). So I have been forced to take another form of leave, so I have decided to take the whole month off as annual leave (as I needed a break from the stress of work anyway, especially after their uncaring attitude) and will go through the union at a later date about how they viewed IVF to be like having cosmetic surgery!!!

Best of luck with it all, and remember...at the end of the day, they dont have to know, its up to you.

 

[Amarylline]

Thanks for your replies. I really would like to avoid telling my work, but we have to do return to work interviews after even just one sick day were have to talk about what was wrong, what we did to treat it, how we're making sure to avoid it happening again, etc., so I'm very worried about what I'll say if I take any sick days (I'm horrible at lying and would worry about any consequences if they found out the truth later). I have a strong suspicion that my work would view IVF as akin to cosmetic surgery as well. One of my colleagues had fertility treatment (not IVF or ICSI, just consultation with a specialist in London) a couple of years ago and she had to take all of her time as annual leave. We don't get any days off for hospital appointments and can't take unpaid leave for anything, so I really only have 20 days to work with plus one flex day I can take every four weeks. I'm getting very upset thinking about all of this and worrying that I may not be able to undergo any treatment at all due to my work.

 

[CareBear]

Work do not have to give time off for fertility treatments as far as I am aware, however if a doctor gives you a sick cetificate for the two weeks following egg collection there is nothing work can do and they have to pay at least statutory sick pay. I would ask your clinic if they will sign you off for the two weeks as this is the most of the time off you need and then take the other days as annual leave or flexi. Might be worth having a chat with your boss and see if they will allow you to work more hours (more than normal) and build them up to take at a later date and take more than the one day in four weeks. Good luck x

 

[CurlySue]

You can get away with a lot to be honest without even HAVING to tell them. For example, you would need a baseline scan. Takes 5 minutes. Dental appointment should cut it. You're literally in and out.

You will then need a further scan to check if egg collection can take place. Those pesky wisdom teeth really are causing you a problem. A really bad problem. Keeping you awake all night. You need to go for an xray. Again, this is literally a 5 minute job. Offer to have an early lunch hour. That way, you are not taking any time off at all. You are simply rearranging your working day. And as for them finding out, unless you tell them how could they find out? It's not as if they will phone your dentists. In fact, they won't even know who your dentist is.

An egg collection takes roughly the same length of time (and time off work) as a wisdom tooth extraction (if you get what I'm saying - oh, and you need them removing pretty much immediately because one of them is pressing on a nerve) plus, the following day you could've had a reaction from the anaesthetic and you're feeling really sick. You could drag that out an extra day or so for the embryo transfer and after that you don't really need any time off work.

This is what I plan on doing for my next 'go'...I pretty much have the permission of my office manager to do so.

"Next time," she said, "just don't tell anyone what you're doing. You could just have a lot of dental appointments!"

 

[obe]

Im kind of in the same boat as you hun, after seeing the FS for the first time I was making my self even more stressed about getting out of work for appointments. I had to tell my office manager, but I asked her not to tell anyone. The was good about it, and I just explained that any time off I needed to to take I would be more than happy to use my holidays or make my time up. I was hoping to start ICSI before the end of this year but it doesnt look like its going to happen just yet.
Im not a very good at telling lies so I felt I had to explain so I have some understanding of how important it is to leave work early etc.
The most important thing is how you feel you can cope, it has taken a bit of weight from my shoulders and im glad I fessed up.
Dont get yourself worked up over it as its not going to help with ttc, its hard enough as it is!!!
Good luck x

 

[Mrs R]

You can get away with a lot to be honest without even HAVING to tell them. For example, you would need a baseline scan. Takes 5 minutes. Dental appointment should cut it. You're literally in and out.

You will then need a further scan to check if egg collection can take place. Those pesky wisdom teeth really are causing you a problem. A really bad problem. Keeping you awake all night. You need to go for an xray. Again, this is literally a 5 minute job. Offer to have an early lunch hour. That way, you are not taking any time off at all. You are simply rearranging your working day. And as for them finding out, unless you tell them how could they find out? It's not as if they will phone your dentists. In fact, they won't even know who your dentist is.

An egg collection takes roughly the same length of time (and time off work) as a wisdom tooth extraction (if you get what I'm saying - oh, and you need them removing pretty much immediately because one of them is pressing on a nerve) plus, the following day you could've had a reaction from the anaesthetic and you're feeling really sick. You could drag that out an extra day or so for the embryo transfer and after that you don't really need any time off work.

This is what I plan on doing for my next 'go'...I pretty much have the permission of my office manager to do so.

"Next time," she said, "just don't tell anyone what you're doing. You could just have a lot of dental appointments!"

What a fab post - I mite have to get you to make up a few fibs for me soon. I've used up all my 'I have a dental appointment' on various scans and appointments over the last year year!

 

[Steph63]

Love CS's post! Wish I had thought that way, I stupidly told my boss and she was less than sympathetic. All my appt time is taken out of my annual leave, I only have 16 days a yr to play with, so it makes things difficult

 

[Amarylline]

Sorry! Double post. See below.

 

[Amarylline]

Thanks for the advice. I really can't lie, though; I wouldn't put it past my work at all to snoop around and I would feel very uncomfortable lying on a signed sickness certificate. If I do have to be signed off at all, the doctor will have to put the reason on the medical certificate anyway, so I just have to hope that I can avoid saying anything for as long as possible and then just tell the least incriminating version of the truth for as long as I can. I'm really terrified I'm going to run out of annual leave, but I don't have any other options. We have to make up any time taken for medical appointments and since the hospital is so far away, I'll have to take at least a half day per appointment (if I can get it late enough in the day) so I can't get away with taking a long lunch. I just wish there were a hospital with a fertility unit nearby; travelling to the clinic is going to cost around £40 per trip, which is really going to add up quickly.

I'm getting so upset about all of this that I'm thinking about giving up. I'm very, very easily stressed anyway, and I'm just not sure I can handle any of this.

 

[brumbar]

now that sucks...I think we should be given a sick certificate for IVF and not taking annual leave days..

If you feel bad about lying and would worry about it, dont do it! worrying about work is the last thing you need during that time. If you are sure you're prepared to take the time off, you could simply tell them that you have a medical problem (you don't have to say what or you could simply say "lady's problem") and that you need to travel to a specialist hospital far from where you work...see if they give you some sort of flexible working option ( coming in early- going for an appointment - making up the hours etc) With a bit of luck you may get some discressionary leave...or something. If they are not willing to help...take the time off....

 

[MrsF]

hello Amarylline, on the sick certificate, the dr would normally put something like 'surgical procedure' or 'minor op', they dont have to write exactly what the procedure is/was. The IVF nurses and doctors are very supportive and understand that discretion is vital during an already stressful time. i'm sorry you're being put through all this stress already, you really dont need it x x x x does your clinic hold satelite clinics a bit nearer to where you live/work? my clinic did and although we didn't use them, they are fully equipped for the scans, bloods, etc - the only things they cant do are the collections and transfers - but because you get a sick note for the latter anyway, it wont be a huge prob?

aw hun, i really hope you can reach a conclusion soon, please dont give up on your dream - i know this is easy for me to say (and i hate that written words dont always come across as intended) but please dont dismiss your dreams, your future, for some snidey company. I agree that if lying makes you more stressed, then dont do it - i'm the same and i told my line manager everything (it started with a m/c 18mths ago) and they have been very supportive and never questioned my time off.

please keep us updated - we're all here to support each other - this forum has been my rock for a long time now, you've come to the right place

x x x x x

 

[MrsR32]

I agree with MrsF, if lying is going to stress you out, just tell them as much of the truth as you need to. When I had my lap & dye and was signed off for two weeks, the hospital just wrote "gynae procedure" on the certificate and I just used the same phrase - as soon as you mention gynae, no-one asks any more questions!

 

[Starbright]

Hi

What does it say in your contract about having time off for medical appointments? Not ncessarily IVF but for general GP appointments, dentists, that sort of thing.
If you work full time, when do they expect you to go to see a doctor or dentist? Would you have to take annual leave for an appointment with an asthma nurse (for example)? If you're allowed time off for general medical things then you might not have to tell them what the appointment is for.
I guess I'm really lucky that my line manager lets us have time off for medical appointments. The only people who aren't allowed are part-timers, who are expected to have appointments in the times they wouldn't normally work.
Some companies, apparently, have actual policies for people going through fertility treatment. But I have also heard of companies saying that ivf is like cosmetic surgery coz it's something you "choose" to do. Yeah right. We "choose" not to be able to have kids. ... sexual discrimination maybe??
Do you have a sympathetic HR person you could talk to?
I think it really sucks that some people are made to have annual leave or sick days for appointments
I hope things work out for you. good luck xxx

 

[Helen]

I told my work that I was having hospital appointments and if anyone asked anymore I vaguely answered "women's stuff" and that killed it off. If you have a male boss this is more likely to work whereas a woman would probably ask more questions.

I got signed off for 2 weeks after ET with "family related stress". That way they didn't freak out about the possibility of work related stress and I was able to answer vaguely about it as they didn't want to pry.

Helped that I was HR Manager at the time though. No point putting a system in place if you can't abuse it yourself! LOL!

I'd say go for it. Take one step and one appointment at a time.

 

[noddysgirl84]

I am in the same boat as you hun, My IVF clinic is about an hour away so I can to take AM/PM off just for scans and the whole day for the procedures.

I have been up front with work about it from the start (well since I started IUI) and they have been really good with it. Our HR Dept said there is no protocal for IVF and I would have to take it as annual leace although my boss has said we could probably sort something out between us - I am glad I have a supportive boss.

Hope you manage to work something out x

 

[Pepper07]

been really upfront with my employer and told them that we are going through our first cycle of ICSI and they have just told me that on my 2 weeks when the egg is implanted and i have to rest that even if the docs sign me off i will only get paid for 3 days of it, i just think this is a stressful time anyway without adding more