The Rugby Football Union (RFU) introduced a brand new maternity depart coverage on Thursday, giving contracted England ladies gamers 26 weeks of absolutely paid depart and the precise for kids beneath the age of 1 to journey with them to video games Has gone.
The coverage, which the RFU described as “ground breaking”, offers pregnant gamers the chance to maneuver into different employment inside rugby whereas on maternity depart.
“I am confident that the policy will help to normalize motherhood in sport and give players the best possible chance of returning to play in a safe and secure way,” stated England lock Abby Ward, who introduced her being pregnant final month .
The situation of maternity depart for skilled athletes has progressively come into better focus in recent times.
Tennis star Serena Williams was denied a seeding on the 2018 French Open when she returned to competitors following the beginning of her daughter, resulting in widespread criticism of match organisers.
By the top of the yr, the Women’s Tennis Association had modified its guidelines on maternity depart to supply gamers getting back from being pregnant not solely a protected rating, but in addition a protected seeding.
In 2019, sportswear big Nike launched a brand new maternity coverage for all its sponsored athletes, guaranteeing pay and bonuses for 18 months of being pregnant.
The change at Nike was triggered by criticism from six-time Olympic gold medalist Allyson Felix, who made headlines when she revealed that her longtime sponsor needed to pay her 70% much less after having her first little one.
World soccer governing physique FIFA launched 14 weeks of maternity depart in 2020, the identical yr the Women’s National Basketball Association first introduced full maternity depart as a part of its collective bargaining settlement.
The RFU said that if contracts had been renegotiated or prolonged throughout the participant’s being pregnant or maternity depart, the participant must be concerned within the discussions and their contract can be prolonged for no less than 12 months.
Christian Day, common secretary of the Rugby Players Association, described the brand new coverage as a “significant step forward” for the ladies’s recreation in England.
“This new policy ensures that our female players will be better supported through parenthood when representing England,” Day stated.
With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
