Fathers Working For Richard Branson's Virgin Will Get A Year's Paternity Leave On Full Pay

Fathers Working For Richard Branson Are Getting An Amazing New Paternity Deal
Richard Branson, chairman and founder of Virgin Group Ltd., smiles during a Bloomberg Television interview in San Francisco, California, U.S., on Thursday, April 23, 2015. Branson and Facebook Inc. Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg's interview comes on the sidelines of the Virgin Disruptors conference which focuses on employee wellbeing.
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Richard Branson, chairman and founder of Virgin Group Ltd., smiles during a Bloomberg Television interview in San Francisco, California, U.S., on Thursday, April 23, 2015. Branson and Facebook Inc. Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg's interview comes on the sidelines of the Virgin Disruptors conference which focuses on employee wellbeing.

New fathers working for Richard Branson's Virgin are to receive an entire year's paternity leave on full pay.

The bold move also applies to adoptive parents.

Workers will need to have been with the company for 4 years to qualify for 100% of pay with 25% for those with less than two years’ service.

Branson said: "I believe if you take care of your employees they will take care of your business.

"As a father and now a proud granddad to three wonderful grandchildren, I know how magical the first year of a child’s life is but also how much hard work it takes.

"I’m delighted that we can offer this support to our staff so that they can enjoy parental leave to the full."

The radical plans come after the 'unlimited annual leave' policy announced last year.

In a blog, the British entrepreneur announced Virgin staff in both the UK and US are to be allowed to take as much holiday as they want, whenever they want.

The radical approach was pioneered by Netflix back in 2010 and rather than lead to an empty office and a workforce of skivers, productivity and morale actually increased.

Branson said: "It is always interesting to note how often the adjectives ‘smart’ and ‘simple’ describe the cleverest of innovations – well, this is surely one of the simplest and smartest initiatives I have heard of in a long time.

"Flexible working has revolutionised how, where and when we all do our jobs. So, if working nine to five no longer applies, then why should strict annual leave (vacation) policies?

"Assuming it goes as well as expected, we will encourage all our subsidiaries to follow suit, which will be incredibly exciting to watch."

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