It is no secret that professional female footballers receive lesser benefits in their contracts as compared to their male counterparts, but their contractual positions are even more generally described as ‘deficient’.
In an effort to combat this, the PFA have been able to secure key reforms in relation to maternity rights, sick pay, and termination resulting from long-term injury.
These latest policy reforms have been agreed between the PFA and The FA following 16 months of negotiations. The changes will result in a refreshed Standard Contract. The PFA have made clear that they believe clubs should adopt all of these new changes rather than implement on a piecemeal basis in order to avoid a two-tier system of players in the Women’s Super League (WSL) and Women’s Championship (WC).
It has been reported that the PFA is also pushing for a Deed of Variation so that these new terms are inserted into the existing contracts of all players in the WSL and WC.
Changes to Maternity Rights
Currently, individual clubs are only obligated to pay Statutory Maternity Pay (90% of average earnings for the first six weeks and the lower of 90% of average earnings and the rate set by the government each year (currently £151.97) for the next 33 weeks) where a player has been employed by the club for 26 weeks. Anything beyond this was at the clubs’ discretion.
Under these new contractual terms, the 26 week qualifying period will be removed entirely. Players will be entitled to at least 14 weeks of paid maternity leave at 100% of their salary and a further eight weeks at 2/3 of their salary; thereafter, they can rely on Statutory Maternity Pay. This will be pivotal in providing female footballers with increased financial security and resources and will afford them more confidence to pursue their career prospects further after childbirth.
It is worth noting that while this change is significant for women’s football, lack of paternity leave is also an issue in the men’s game. Although male footballers have a statutory entitlement to one or two weeks’ paid paternity leave, most players are unlikely to take advantage of this. The approach taken by clubs and managers differs; David De Gea (goalkeeper at Manchester United) was allowed to take paternity leave and missed four games at the end of the 2020/21 Premier League season (though players missing games was common this season due to COVID-19 isolation rules); by contrast, Anthony Martial was reportedly fined £180,000 for leaving Manchester United’s pre-season tour early in 2018 to be with his partner and new-born child. Ultimately, the fact that male players are not taking paternity leave may have less to do with policy and contracts (as there is a statutory right), and more to do with the culture in the men’s game.
Changes to Sick Pay
Under the current regime, female players who are unable to play due to illness or injury are only entitled to six months’ pay of their basic wage.
Following these reforms, female players will instead be entitled to 100% of their basic wage for 18 months of illness or injury and then 50% of their basic wage for the remaining period of incapacity. This change now mirrors the injury rights available to their male counterparts.
Changes to Termination Resulting from Long-Term Injury
The new reforms will mean that if a female player’s contract is to be terminated as a result of a long-term injury, they are entitled to 12 months’ notice of termination (as opposed to the previous position which was three months’ notice). This will provide significant financial security to female footballers who will be out of work as a result of an injury. Given that the average length of contracts for female players are typically significantly shorter than for male players (the average being only 12.1 months), this can provide much needed job security to players in recovery and will allow retained access to club facilities and support.
It remains to be seen how clubs approach these new reforms and the extent to which The FA impose them on pre-existing contracts. Ultimately, while the journey towards total parity with male footballers is still a long one, these latest reforms represent a key milestone in securing improved employment rights for many female footballers.
