‘Racing Home’ goes live: a brand-new online platform for educating and empowering racings employers, employees and self-employed
Women in Racing, with support from the Racing Foundation, Kindred Group and their flagship brand Unibet, are delighted to announce the launch of the ‘Racing Home’ portal, www.racinghome.org.uk
The organisations have come together to launch racing’s first motherhood/parenthood portal as part of their ongoing project to educate and empower all stakeholders within the horseracing industry. Working parents, in particular women and those thinking about starting a family, can face significant challenges within horseracing. Employers, employees and those who are self-employed will have easy access to information about rights and entitlements regarding pregnancy, maternity, paternity, adoption, shared parental leave, flexible working, self-employment and statutory pay.
Users of the portal will also find an ‘Advice and Support’ section which demonstrates examples of good working practices and provides advice both employers and employees can take into consideration. This includes information around supporting carers, flexible and family-friendly working, remote and agile working, mental health and wellbeing and returning to work amongst other topics.
Also launching as part of the project is a ‘Pilot Programme’ which will deliver guidance for mothers returning to riding work post pregnancy. Working with ‘Specialist Rehabilitation Physios’, participants will be offered free physical, psychological and emotional support in Newmarket, Middleham and Malton as part of the pilot, with the objective to run this programme nationally within the year.
Additionally, the ‘Racing Home’ project is debuting a series of insightful podcasts hosted by equine vet and podcast producer Naomi Mellor. Hosted on Spotify and Apple Music, Naomi will be talking to trainers, jockeys, experts, and a host of the sport’s decision makers about their stories and experiences and how together we can shape a positive future for all families in horseracing.
Women in Racing Chair, Tallulah Lewis said: “Women in Racing are incredible proud to be launching the Racing Home Project with three key initiatives which aim to have immediate impact on the lives of all working parents. The work we have been undertaking has identified some serious challenges faced by mothers and parents working in the horseracing industry and two years of research and webinars have led to Women in Racing in tandem with Simply Racing and the industry stakeholders developing meaningful solutions that will positively impact the working lives of many, enhancing, wellbeing, resilience and quality of life. Our gratitude to Racing Foundation and Kindred Group for their foresight in sponsoring the Racing Home Project and all the women who contributed to its findings. We believe that these initiatives will bring significant positive change to many people’s lives.
Rob Hezel, Racing Foundation Chief Executive said: “The Racing Foundation is adamant that parenthood, in any of its forms, should not be a barrier to a career in the racing industry, nor should it mean derailing an existing career. Supporting current and prospective parents is crucial to improve retention of the industry’s workforce and it is so necessary given the struggles faced in recruiting and retaining staff. We expect the Racing Home platform will assist in making the racing industry more attractive, transparent and a long-term career option for staff now and in the future.”
Ed Nicholson, Head of Kindred Racing Communications and Sponsorship said: “We live in transient times, and both the racing and betting industries face many important challenges ahead. One common challenge is how we keep and develop our existing employees. Given that over 50% of the industries workforce is female it is both sensible and imperative that we all understand the issues that influence employment decisions for prospective parents and for those women thinking about returning to the industry having given birth or raised a family. Therefore, Kindred is proud to support this second phase of the Racing Home project, which helps to offer advice and guidance to educate and empower all stakeholders within the industry about motherhood/parenthood. At Kindred, we strongly believe a diverse workforce enhances our performance and we focus on improving our diversity across the Group. We know that Women in Racing are instrumental to raising the awareness of diversity in the racing industry and we are pleased to be able to support the delivery of concrete actions to enhance the wellbeing of the industry”
To learn more: www.racinghome.org.uk