Fertility Benefits for Employers in Sri Lanka

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 Sri Lankan survey of employees in fertility treatment. Multi-country evidence suggests many hide it: 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).
• Out-of-pocket treatment. About 1,725 couples had registered for the planned state programme at Castle Street by October 2025 (Zira Daily, October 2025).
• Unequal leave. Female public officers can take up to 1 year of no-pay leave for subfertility treatment, under a 2018 circular (Sunday Times, December 2018). Private sector law has none.

What employers gain

What IVF costs, and what the state pays

IVF arrived in Sri Lanka in 2002 and was available only in private hospitals until the University of Kelaniya unit began trial cycles in 2024 (The Morning, June 2025). The World Health Organization estimates that about 1 in 6 people worldwide are affected by infertility; Dr Suranga Hettipathirana of the University of Kelaniya told The Morning in 2025 that “around 10% of the population are subfertile”. We found no national study behind this figure.

Sources: Daily Mirror, 26 January 2026; Xinhua via News Agency of Nigeria, January 2026 (USD conversion); Northern Provincial Council, 25 June 2026; The Morning, 4 June 2025; Asiri Health, August 2024 (clinic blog). Ask clinics for current quotes.

Sources: University of Kelaniya, June 2025; University of Kelaniya, May 2026; Zira Daily, 16 October 2025; Daily FT, 24 March 2025; The Morning, 28 October 2025.

Age is one of the strongest predictors of IVF success. Sri Lanka publishes no age-specific IVF data. The closest registry figures come from Australia and New Zealand: in 2024, live births per egg collection cycle (own eggs, fresh, excluding freeze-all cycles) were 28.7% for women aged 30 to 34, 19.0% at 35 to 39 and 6.3% at 40 to 44 (ANZARD 2024).

Older patients often need more cycles, so the size of an allowance, and when employees can use it, 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 Sri Lanka’s Personal Data Protection Act, No. 9 of 2022, which treats health data as a special category of personal data.

Clinics and doctors in Sri Lanka

Zora’s clinic and doctor directory does not list providers in Sri Lanka 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 Sri Lanka can still use Zora’s education and the Zora app. Ask us how your team in Sri Lanka would use Zora before you launch. See Zora’s employer guides for every country.

Rules and eligibility in Sri Lanka

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 Sri Lanka?

Not for private employers. Private sector law has no fertility, IVF or paternity leave; women get 84 days’ paid maternity leave for each live birth. Female public officers can take up to 1 year of no-pay leave for subfertility treatment recommended by a consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist, under a 2018 circular.

Does the state pay for IVF in Sri Lanka?

Only in a few small programmes. A University of Kelaniya unit at Colombo North Teaching Hospital, Ragama, began trial IVF cycles in 2024 and delivered its first baby in July 2025, and Kilinochchi District General Hospital was running a free service by June 2026. Castle Street Hospital for Women said in January 2026 its unit would open within 3 months; we found no report that it had by November 2026. Most couples pay LKR 2 to 3 million a cycle privately.

Can employees freeze their eggs in Sri Lanka?

Private clinics such as Asiri offer egg banking. There is no assisted reproduction law setting age or storage limits, and we found no published rules on freezing for non-medical reasons, so terms depend on the clinic. Agree eligibility rules 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 Sri Lankan 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.