Fertility Benefits for Employers in Turkey

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 Turkish survey on how employees handle fertility treatment at work. Surveys elsewhere point one way. In Carrot’s 2023 survey of 5,000 people in Canada, India, Mexico, the UK and the US, 79% said they felt uncomfortable discussing fertility openly at work. In Ferring’s 2025 survey of more than 3,600 employees and employers in Australia, France, Japan, Poland and the UK, 67% of those with fertility challenges said their workplace offered no support.

• Resignations. In the Ferring 2025 survey, 39% of employees with fertility challenges had left or considered leaving their roles while in treatment.
• Pressure to attend. In the same survey, 36% of employees had felt pressure from their employer to work during treatment or investigations.
• Public limits. SGK funds up to 3 IVF attempts for married couples with no child together, and only while the woman is under 40 at embryo transfer. (Hukukçular Evi, 2026)
• Unequal access. Assisted reproduction in Turkey is limited to married couples using their own eggs and sperm, and SGK does not pay for egg freezing (Uzmanpara, June 2026).

What employers gain

What IVF costs, and what the state pays

General Health Insurance, run by the Social Security Institution (SGK), pays for IVF at contracted centres under the Health Implementation Communiqué (SUT). Private centres can charge fees on top of the SGK price. The most recent prices we could verify are from February 2025, and lira prices move quickly.

Sources: Haberler.com, February 2025 (prices are from February 2025 and the article does not name a hospital or cite a price survey); Uzmanpara, June 2026 on egg freezing cover.

Sources: Hukukçular Evi, SGK IVF conditions under SUT 2.4.4.İ, updated October 2026; Ensonhaber, SGK IVF support 2026; Eleman.net, April 2025 (co-payment cap); Uzmanpara, June 2026; Sigortam.net, March 2026. Some March and April 2025 reports give 25% for the 3rd attempt; the SUT-based summary updated in October 2026 gives 20%.

Age is one of the strongest predictors of IVF success, alongside individual medical and treatment factors. We found no public Turkish registry of IVF results by age, so the figures here are from the UK, not Turkey. Preliminary 2022 data from the UK regulator, the HFEA, show births per embryo transferred falling from 35% for UK patients under 35 to 10% at 40 to 42.

SGK stops funding once a woman reaches 40 at embryo transfer. That 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 Turkey’s Personal Data Protection Law No. 6698 (KVKK), which treats health data as special category data.

Clinics and doctors in Turkey

Zora’s directory lists 19 clinics and 15 doctors in Turkey. Locations include Istanbul, Antalya and Gebze. Of these clinics, 15 list IVF and 9 list egg freezing.

Employees can browse clinics in Turkey, see IVF clinics and find a doctor in Turkey 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 Turkey

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 Turkey?

No. The Labour Law has no fertility or IVF leave. Since 1 May 2026, Law 7578 gives employees under the Labour Law 24 weeks of maternity leave and private sector workers 10 days of paid paternity leave. Time for scans and egg collection comes from annual leave unless the employer’s policy provides more.

Does SGK pay for IVF?

Yes, for married couples with no child together, where the woman is over 23 and under 40 at embryo transfer, one spouse has 5 years of insurance and 900 premium days, and a health board report confirms IVF is needed. SGK covers up to 3 attempts at contracted centres, with co-payments of 30%, 25% and 20% of the SUT price according to current SUT-based summaries (some 2025 reports give 25% for the 3rd). Private centres can charge more on top.

Can single employees freeze their eggs in Turkey?

Only on the medical grounds listed in the 2014 regulation, such as before cancer treatment or with low ovarian reserve, confirmed by a health board report. Marriage is not required to freeze, but the eggs can later be used only within marriage. SGK does not pay for egg freezing.

Does private health insurance cover IVF in Turkey?

Usually not. Private health insurance excludes IVF and most complementary policies do too. One insurer sells an add-on that covers IVF at contracted hospitals only where the treatment is also SGK-eligible.

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.

Related guides for Turkey 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.