Professional women footballers in England entitled to maternity leave for the first time
Professional women footballers in England will be entitled to maternity and long sickness cover for the first time.
The move was hailed as a "massive step forward" by Sunderland Central MP Julie Elliott in Parliament on Tuesday.
Previously, players at the 24 clubs in the Women’s Super League and Women’s Championship did not have maternity leave written into their standard contracts.
Maternity cover was instead at the discretion of individual clubs.
Under a new player contract agreed by the Football Association (FA) and Professional Footballers' Association (PFA), players will now be guaranteed at least 14 weeks of paid maternity leave, with eight weeks paid at two-thirds of their salaries.
According to the Professional Footballers' Association, male players are entitled to ask for paternity leave — under employment law it is a statutory right — and clubs would have to allow it if a formal request was made.
The PFA’s director of women’s football Marie-Christine Bouchier said in a statement: “Over the last 16 months, the PFA has been working with the FA to address the significant disparities between the contractual rights and obligations of male and female players in English club football.
“We are pleased to confirm that, following these negotiations, the FA Board has recently agreed to support three significant policy changes relating to maternity provision, injury and illness and termination of long-term injury.
“The PFA’s aim has been consistent throughout these talks – to ensure contractual parity for our female members compared to the men’s game.
"There is much still to be achieved, but these policy changes represent important milestones in what are ongoing discussions.”
It comes after the international football association FIFA announced last November it would introduce a set of minimum rights for contracted players, so that clubs face fines and transfer bans if they discriminate against pregnant players.
It also came amid calls for more to be done to support players who have children.
MP Julie Elliott, said during a Parliamentary debate she led on women's football: “The issue of maternity rights for players impacts on their lives hugely.
“In research conducted by Dr Alex Culvin last year, players were quoted as saying they ‘need longer contracts so we feel more secure. I shouldn’t have to think I need to sign a four-year contract because I want to have a baby, so I know they’ll pay me’."
In tweets, she suggested more needs to be done: "I am delighted that the FA and PFA have agreed a player contract for the top two tiers that enables maternity and long sickness cover, and it is welcome that the Minister has announced that he is minded to add the Women's World Cup and Euros to listed events.
"There is however still no deadline as to when we expect a response to the Crouch Review, and still no commitment to a full review into the Women’s game.
"Today we made some good forward steps - but there is still so much to do."