Fertility Benefits for Employers in Belgium

Written by Anna Haotanto, Founder, Zora Health. Last reviewed: November 2026. General information, not legal or medical advice. This guide covers IVF and egg freezing costs, public funding, the rules and how to build a fertility benefit.

Why fertility is a business problem for employers

Fertility treatment does not fit around a work calendar. A clinic sets the date of a scan the day before. Egg collection happens when the body is ready, usually about 36 hours after a final trigger injection. Then comes a two-week wait, and for many couples, another cycle. Your team feels it: missed meetings, unexplained absences, a strong performer who suddenly goes quiet.

The World Health Organization estimates that about 1 in 6 people worldwide are affected by infertility. In a 2023 Carrot Fertility survey of 5,000 people in Canada, India, Mexico, the UK and the US, 79% felt uncomfortable discussing fertility at work.

• Resignations. 39% of employees with fertility challenges in Ferring‘s 2025 survey of more than 3,600 people in Australia, France, Japan, Poland and the UK had left or considered leaving their job during treatment.
• Unclear time off. 60% in the same survey were not clearly entitled to time off for fertility appointments. In Belgium, a pregnant employee keeps her pay for prenatal exams, but an employee in IVF must use unpaid leave or a medical certificate (L’Avenir, 2023).
• Legal exposure. Since 28 April 2024, dismissing an employee for treatment-related absence can cost a lump sum of 6 months’ gross pay under the Labour Act, and discrimination another 6 months under the Gender Act (Altius).

What employers gain

What IVF costs, and what the state pays

Belgium funds IVF in two parts. The laboratory work is paid through the hospital budget for up to 6 cycles, and INAMI pays a flat fee for medication per completed IVF cycle, with a patient co-payment of €54.90, or €36.64 with increased reimbursement (INAMI, INAMI circular 2008/29). Both require a recognised centre, the mutual insurer’s prior approval and a woman under 43. Embryo transfers are capped: under 36, 1 embryo in the 1st cycle, 1 or 2 in the 2nd and up to 2 from the 3rd; at 36 to 39, up to 2 in cycles 1 and 2 and up to 3 from the 3rd; at 40 to 42, no fixed limit (Parentia).

Sources: Parentia, IVF costs; ZOL Genk, Social freezing brochure, October 2026. Rounded; clinics set their own fees and index them yearly.

Sources: INAMI, fertility medication; Parentia; ZOL Genk; INAMI, Freezing; Brussels Times, 2019. The egg freezing range is our estimate from ZOL Genk’s 2026 fees for 10 to 15 eggs, not a quoted price.

Age is one of the strongest predictors of IVF success. In Belgian registry data for women who started a first fresh cycle between July 2009 and December 2011, the cumulative live birth rate over up to 6 fresh cycles and linked frozen transfers, assuming women who stopped had no further births, was 62.9% under 35, 34.1% at 38 to 40 and 17.7% at 41 to 42 (De Neubourg et al., Human Reproduction, 2016). Drawing on BELRAP 2022, the European Institute of Bioethics put average success at about 17% per fresh cycle with a woman’s own eggs, across all ages.

An employee who starts in her late 30s can use up her 6 funded cycles as success rates fall, so the size and timing of an allowance matter.

Fertility support that fits your workforce and budget

You do not need to overhaul your existing health insurance to support employees through fertility treatment. Start with awareness and manager education, add confidential one-to-one support, or introduce a funded allowance across your offices. There is no minimum company size.

Where included in the employer programme, eligible employees can use talks and care navigation without paying Zora a separate fee. Care navigation allowances are set in each proposal. Treatment and other third-party costs are paid separately, either by employees or through the fertility allowance their employer provides.

Optional add-ons can be added to any programme, subject to availability: hormone and fertility diagnostics and telehealth with specialists. Pricing is tailored to your headcount, your countries and the services you choose. Most companies start with a single talk.

Request a proposal See how Zora works for employers

Plan your fertility benefit budget

Already have corporate health insurance? Here is where Zora fits

Your medical plan may cover some consultations and tests, but fertility treatment is often limited or excluded, so check your policy wording. Employees still need to understand their options, the public funding they qualify for and which clinic suits them.

Zora works alongside your existing insurance and benefits. We help employees get reliable information, navigate their care options and reach suitable specialists, and we give HR manager guidance, policy templates and, on the Complete programme, anonymised reporting. You strengthen fertility support without replacing your medical plan.

How Zora works

For your employees

Employees join the Zora app with a company code, or single sign-on for larger teams. They can learn about fertility and egg freezing, understand what your benefit covers, book a confidential care navigation call and find partner clinics and specialists.

For HR

1. Kick-off, week 1. Agree goals, countries and which employees are eligible.
2. Policy and benefit design, weeks 2 to 4. Draft or update your fertility policy using our templates.
3. Launch, typically weeks 4 to 6. A launch talk for employees and managers, plus a communications pack for HR to send.
4. Live support. Employees book care navigation calls and use the Zora app.
5. Reporting, every 3 months, on the Complete programme. Anonymised usage, common themes and our recommendations, reviewed with your account manager.

Privacy

Employee privacy is central to our programmes. On the Complete programme, routine employer reports contain aggregated engagement and utilisation information, with safeguards to prevent identification of individual employees. On every programme, personal health information is not included in standard HR reporting, and employees can get help without telling their manager. Where eligibility checks or claims administration need individual-level data, access is limited to authorised parties for defined purposes, as agreed in writing before launch. Employee data is handled in line with Singapore’s Personal Data Protection Act and Belgium’s data protection rules under the GDPR and the Belgian Data Protection Act of 30 July 2018, which treat health data as special category data.

Clinics and doctors in Belgium

Zora’s clinic and doctor directory does not list providers in Belgium yet. It lists 421 clinics and 1,185 doctors across 25 countries, mostly in Asia Pacific and the Middle East (browse clinics or browse doctors). Employees in Belgium can still use Zora’s education and the Zora app. Ask us how your team in Belgium would use Zora before you launch. See Zora’s employer guides for every country.

Rules and eligibility in Belgium

Why employers choose Zora

Companies including Hilton, LinkedIn, Sanofi, HSBC, Mastercard, Carousell and Singapore Management University work with Zora Health. We work alongside your existing insurance, helping employees use the cover they already have and find suitable specialists based on their needs.

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Trying to conceive with a heavy workload took a toll on my husband and me. It helped us understand our options.

Questions HR teams ask us

Is fertility leave mandatory in Belgium?

No. There is no statutory fertility or IVF leave, and the employer does not have to pay salary for treatment absences. Since 28 April 2024, an employee who gives the employer a medical certificate is protected for 2 months against dismissal linked to treatment absences. Employers can add paid fertility leave in their own policy.

Does health insurance pay for IVF in Belgium?

Yes, within limits. INAMI/RIZIV funds the laboratory costs of up to 6 IVF or ICSI cycles per woman and pays a flat fee for medication, if treatment starts before she turns 43 and the mutual insurer approves it in advance. The number of embryos transferred is limited by age and cycle. Belgian patients typically pay about €500 per attempt in co-payments.

Is elective egg freezing covered in Belgium?

Only partly. At ZOL Genk in 2026, egg collection was reimbursed but still cost the patient about €200 to €300, and freezing with 10 years of storage cost €586 plus €62 per egg, with medication of about €1,000. Freezing before cancer treatment has been reimbursed since 2017, and an INAMI convention from 1 June 2023 extends it to some other medical conditions.

Does Zora replace our health insurance?

No. Zora works alongside your insurance. We help employees understand their options, find suitable specialists and use the cover they already have.

How much does a fertility benefit cost an employer?

It depends on the allowance, eligibility and expected uptake. Use the budget planner on this page for a first estimate, then ask us for a tailored proposal based on your headcount and countries.

How quickly can we launch?

Typically 4 to 6 weeks from contract to launch, depending on scope and countries. Most companies start with a single talk.

Related guides for Belgian employers

Information on this page is correct as of 5 November 2026. Laws, public funding, insurance rules and treatment costs change often, so check current rules with the relevant authority, insurer or a qualified adviser before making decisions. This page is general information, not legal, financial, tax or medical advice.