Fertility Benefits for Employers in Saudi Arabia

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.

We found no published Saudi survey of employees going through fertility treatment, so there is no local figure for how many hide it from their employer. The multi-country evidence is consistent: in Carrot Fertility’s 2023 survey of 5,000 people in Canada, India, Mexico, the UK and the US, 79% said they were uneasy discussing fertility at work.

• Resignations. 39% of employees with fertility challenges left or considered leaving their job during treatment, in Ferring’s 2025 survey of more than 3,600 employees and employers in Australia, France, Japan, Poland and the UK.
• Lower performance. 55% said fertility challenges had hurt their work performance (Carrot, 2023, Canada, India, Mexico, the UK and the US).
• Insurance gap. The basic health insurance policy excludes drugs, procedures and hormone therapy for infertility, including IVF (Saudi Gazette, 2022). We found no later change to that exclusion, and a 2026 qualitative study found that insurance still generally excludes infertility treatment, so employees pay clinic fees themselves.
• Unequal access. Treatment is open only to married couples, and the basic insurance policy pays nothing toward it, whether the employee is Saudi or expatriate. Public capacity is limited: in a 2026 study in the Eastern Province, a government clinic reported about 1,000 patients on its waiting list, and patients described IVF appointments set up to a year ahead.

What employers gain

What IVF costs, and what the state pays

Saudi Arabia publishes no national IVF registry, standard fee schedule or outcome data, so cost figures come from clinicians quoted in the press. The World Health Organization estimates that about 1 in 6 people worldwide experience infertility in their lifetime; we found no recent national prevalence study strong enough to use here. In 2022 a Saudi professor of obstetrics put delayed childbearing among Saudis at 15% to 20% (Saudi Gazette), a clinician estimate.

Sources: Saudi Gazette, 13 November 2022, quoting two Saudi obstetricians. This is the most recent published Saudi price we found; the article does not say whether drugs are included, and prices may have changed since 2022. Al-Mowaten, October 2018, quoting the Council of Health Insurance on pregnancy after IVF.

Sources: Saudi Gazette, 2022; Saudi Expatriates, unified policy benefits, May 2022 (secondary report of Council of Health Insurance rules); Alshallali and Al Shawan, F1000Research, 2026, on government capacity. Check top-up plan wording with your insurer, since some employers buy cover above the basic policy.

Age is one of the strongest predictors of IVF success, alongside individual medical and treatment factors. Saudi Arabia publishes no national success rates by age, so the closest registry data comes from Australia and New Zealand: in 2024, live births per egg collection cycle (own eggs, fresh) were 28.7% for women aged 30 to 34, 19.0% at 35 to 39 and 6.3% at 40 to 44 (ANZARD 2024).

Treatment in Saudi Arabia is limited to married couples, and no more than three embryos may be transferred in a cycle, so couples who start later often need several cycles, which is why the size of an allowance, and when employees can use it, matter as much as whether you offer one.

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 Saudi Arabia’s Personal Data Protection Law, which treats health data as sensitive data.

Clinics and doctors in Saudi Arabia

Zora’s directory lists 10 clinics and 13 doctors in Saudi Arabia. Locations include Jeddah and Riyadh. All of the clinics list IVF, and 1 lists egg freezing.

Employees can browse clinics in Saudi Arabia, see IVF clinics and find a doctor in Saudi Arabia on the Zora app. The directory is for information only and is not an endorsement. See Zora’s employer guides for every country.

Rules and eligibility in Saudi Arabia

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 Saudi Arabia?

No. The Labour Law, as amended in February 2025, provides 12 weeks of paid maternity leave and 3 days of paternity leave, but no fertility or IVF leave. Employees usually use annual, sick or unpaid leave unless the employer’s policy gives more.

Does employer health insurance in Saudi Arabia cover IVF?

The basic health insurance policy set by the Council of Health Insurance excludes IVF and other infertility treatment. It does cover pregnancy and delivery that follow IVF. Some top-up plans go further, so check your policy wording.

Can an unmarried employee use an egg freezing benefit in Saudi Arabia?

The law limits fertility treatment to married couples, and a 2019 Council of Senior Scholars resolution permits egg freezing for cancer patients. Elective freezing by single women is not addressed in the law and reports differ on whether clinics offer it. Frozen eggs can only be used within a marriage. Agree eligibility with local legal counsel.

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 Saudi Arabia 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.