Fertility and menopause support: UK benchmark 2026

About the data

This paper reports how UK employers answered lumi's questions on fertility, menopause and health support. The lumi reward benchmark covers 269 UK organisations across 14 sectors and five size bands. Data was collected in the 2026 H1 collection window. Each figure gives its base (n): the number of organisations that answered that question. Percentages are rounded to one decimal place, so a distribution can add up to 100.1%. Figures here are national. Sector and size comparisons are available to lumi members. See how lumi works for the method.

The legal context

One item on the GOV.UK employment rights timeline (updated 25 August 2026) bears directly on this paper. Gender equality and menopause action plans were introduced on a voluntary basis on 6 April 2026. They become mandatory in 2027, with timing to be confirmed. The 2026 H1 collection window includes 6 April 2026, so some answers on action plans may have been given before the voluntary plans were introduced.

Bereavement leave, including for pregnancy loss, is also due in 2027, with timing to be confirmed. It sits next to fertility policy but is not measured here.

The other practices in this paper, including fertility treatment funding and leave, menopause leave and targeted health benefits, are not set by statute.

How many UK employers fund fertility treatment or offer fertility leave?

The benchmark asks two questions on fertility treatment. One covers the cost of treatment. The other covers time away from work to have it.

Funded treatment cycles

The first question is: How many funded IVF/fertility treatment cycles (or financial cap) do you provide, if any? The base is 257 organisations. The 12 organisations that answered "Not applicable" sit outside it.

"None" is the common answer. The three answers that describe funded treatment are each rare, and together account for 1.6% (0.8% + 0.4% + 0.4%).

For someone designing reward, this places funded fertility treatment in the rare band. Where an organisation does fund treatment, the data shows three ways to do it: a set number of cycles, a financial cap, or no limit. Each rests on one or two organisations, a base too small to describe a typical design. The three models place risk differently. A cycle count fixes the benefit in clinical terms and leaves the cost to vary with clinic prices. A financial cap fixes the employer's cost and leaves the number of cycles to vary. Uncapped funding removes the limit on the employee's side and leaves the employer's cost open.

Dedicated fertility-treatment leave

The second question is: Do you provide dedicated paid fertility-treatment leave (separate from sick/annual leave)? The base is 211 organisations. The 58 organisations that answered "Not applicable" sit outside it.

• "No" is the common answer, at 76.3%.
• "Paid dedicated leave" is an alternative practice, at 21.3%.
• "Unpaid/flexible" is rare, at 2.4%.

In all, 23.7% (21.3% + 2.4%) give an answer other than "No".

Where the answer is "No", any time off for treatment falls outside a dedicated paid category. The question's own wording names sick leave and annual leave as the routes it sets apart. A dedicated paid category gives the employee a known entitlement that does not draw on holiday or count as sickness absence. It also asks the employee to say that the absence is for fertility treatment. An unpaid or flexible arrangement gives time without a pay cost to the employer, and leaves the loss of earnings with the employee.

The two fertility questions sit in different prevalence bands: paid dedicated leave is an alternative practice, while each funded-treatment answer is rare. The data does not show whether organisations that give one also give the other.

Do UK employers provide paid menopause leave?

The benchmark asks: Do you provide specific paid leave related to menopause? The base is 260 organisations.

• "No specific provision" is the common answer, at 79.2%.
• "Support provided, but no specific paid leave" is rare, at 17.7%.
• "Yes - specific paid menopause leave" is rare, at 3.1%.

Taken together, 20.8% (17.7% + 3.1%) report some menopause provision, whether support or specific paid leave.

Among organisations that make provision, support without a specific paid leave category is chosen more often than specific paid leave. The question does not break down what that support covers. The design choice is between naming menopause as a reason for paid time off and handling it through existing absence, flexibility and health routes. A named category sets out the entitlement in advance, but creates a separate absence type to define and record. Support without specific leave keeps absence rules unchanged, and leaves the employee to use the general routes.

How many UK employers have published a menopause action plan?

The benchmark asks: Have you published (or do you plan to publish) a voluntary menopause action plan ahead of the 2027 mandate? The base is 267 organisations.

9.0% (3.0% + 6.0%) have already published a plan or plan to publish one this year. 22.9% (13.9% + 6.0% + 3.0%) give an answer other than "No plans".

These answers describe where organisations stood during the 2026 H1 collection window. At that point, plans were voluntary from 6 April 2026 and due to become mandatory in 2027, with timing to be confirmed. "No plans" is the common answer. Each answer that describes some activity on a plan is rare.

For reward, an action plan is where menopause benefits, such as leave, flexibility and health support, can be set out as a published commitment. An organisation that publishes on the voluntary basis states its position early, and may need to revise it once the mandatory requirements are set. An organisation that waits keeps its options open, with less time to prepare. The data does not show what the published plans contain.

What women's, men's and gender-affirming health support do UK employers offer?

Three questions cover targeted health support within the benefits package.

Women's health

The first is: Do you provide women's health support beyond menopause leave (e.g. menopause HRT support, gynae pathways, endometriosis support)? The base is 266 organisations.

• "No" is the common answer, at 77.1%.
• "Yes clinical benefit" is rare, at 12.8%.
• "Policy/awareness only" is rare, at 10.2%.

In all, 23.0% (12.8% + 10.2%) provide some form of women's health support beyond menopause leave.

The two "yes" answers describe different kinds of provision. A clinical benefit gives access to treatment or care pathways, at a direct cost. Policy or awareness activity sets out guidance without a clinical service behind it. Its direct cost is lower, and it does not in itself give access to treatment. Both answers sit in the rare band.

Men's health

The second is: Do you provide men's health support (e.g. screening, prostate/testicular pathways, targeted mental health support)? The base is 267 organisations.

• "No" is the common answer, at 76.8%.
• "Yes" is an alternative practice, at 23.2%.

The men's health question is a yes/no question. The women's health question separates a clinical benefit from policy and awareness. The two are therefore not directly comparable in form. A "Yes" to the men's health question may cover clinical services, awareness work or both.

Gender-affirming healthcare

The third is: Do you offer gender-affirming healthcare support within benefits? The base is 266 organisations.

• "No" is the common answer, at 70.3%.
• "Yes explicit" is rare, at 19.9%, just below the 20% threshold between rare and alternative.
• "PMI standard terms" is rare, at 9.8%.

In all, 29.7% (19.9% + 9.8%) give an answer other than "No".

The two positive answers differ in how coverage is defined. An explicit benefit names gender-affirming care, so employees can see what is covered. Reliance on standard private medical insurance (PMI) terms means support is whatever the insurer's policy wording provides. The employer need not write its own definition, but the scope is then set by the insurer rather than by the employer.

What the data means for reward decisions

This paper describes prevalence. A rare practice here is a statement about how many organisations chose an answer, not a judgement on it. The data points to a set of trade-offs a reward manager weighs in this area.

Time or treatment. Fertility support can take the form of paid time off, funded treatment, or both. Paid dedicated leave is an alternative practice (21.3%, n = 211); each funded-treatment answer is rare (n = 257). Leave carries the cost of absence. Funding carries the cost of the treatment itself. Questions to ask: which cost is the organisation prepared to carry? What does an employee need at each stage of treatment?

A named category or existing routes. For both fertility treatment and menopause, the choice is between a dedicated entitlement and the general absence rules. A named category gives certainty, but asks employees to disclose the reason for absence. Questions to ask: how do current sick pay and annual leave rules treat this absence? Would a separate category change how employees use them?

Clinical benefit or policy. For women's health, the "yes" answers split between a clinical benefit (12.8%) and policy or awareness only (10.2%, n = 266). Questions to ask: does the organisation want to fund access to care, or to set out guidance and adjustments? How does any new benefit sit alongside existing PMI, a cash plan or an employee assistance programme?

Explicit wording or insurer terms. For gender-affirming care, 19.9% give explicit support and 9.8% rely on PMI standard terms (n = 266). Questions to ask: does the organisation know what its current insurer covers? Would employees be able to find out before they need it?

Timing of a menopause action plan. Plans are voluntary now and become mandatory in 2027, with timing to be confirmed. Questions to ask: which benefits and policies would a plan need to describe? Does the organisation hold the data to report against it?

Scope across groups. Questions to ask: is health support designed as one framework with pathways for different needs, or as separate benefits? How does each benefit treat partners and dependants?

Related

• How to write a gender equality and menopause action plan — how to write the plan that becomes mandatory in 2027.
• Private medical insurance and health benefits — what UK employers cover through PMI and other health benefits.
• Pay gap reporting and equality action plans — how employers report pay gaps and set equality commitments.

Notes

• Base, "Not applicable" handling and rounding are as described in "About the data".
• Two questions in this paper exclude "Not applicable" from the base: the question on funded IVF/fertility treatment cycles (12 organisations answered "Not applicable"; base 257) and the question on dedicated paid fertility-treatment leave (58 answered "Not applicable"; base 211). For every other question here, any "Not applicable" answers sit inside the base.
• Bases differ between questions because not every organisation answered every question.
• Prevalence words follow lumi's definitions for single-select and yes/no questions: common is the most frequently chosen answer; alternative is 20% or more but not the most common; rare is under 20%.
• Combined figures are sums of the listed percentages within a single question. The parts are shown each time.

Data appendix

Every question on this page, with its base and full distribution, as a spreadsheet: download the CSV.

All national figures used in this paper, as recorded in the lumi reward benchmark (collection window 2026 H1).

How many funded IVF/fertility treatment cycles (or financial cap) do you provide, if any?
Base: 257 organisations · "Not applicable" excluded from base

Do you provide dedicated paid fertility-treatment leave (separate from sick/annual leave)?
Base: 211 organisations · "Not applicable" excluded from base

Do you provide specific paid leave related to menopause?
Base: 260 organisations

Have you published (or do you plan to publish) a voluntary menopause action plan ahead of the 2027 mandate?
Base: 267 organisations

Do you provide women's health support beyond menopause leave (e.g. menopause HRT support, gynae pathways, endometriosis support)?
Base: 266 organisations

Do you provide men's health support (e.g. screening, prostate/testicular pathways, targeted mental health support)?
Base: 267 organisations

Do you offer gender-affirming healthcare support within benefits?
Base: 266 organisations

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