Richard Branson Gives 1-Year Paid Leave To New Fathers Working At Virgin

It's no secret maternity leave policies in this country suck, for lack of a better word. And paternity leave?

It's pretty much a career unicorn.

But from what we hear, there's a company that has one of the best offers out there.

Enter: Virgin, billionaire Sir Richard Branson's company.

It's the same company that reportedly offers unlimited vacation time.

The mogul recently unveiled a new policy giving new mothers and fathers a whopping 12 months of paid maternity or paternity leave if they choose to take the time off. That's a year off. Paid. It doesn't get much better than that.

The policy, which pertains to new parents, biological or adoptive, only fully extends to workers who've been with Virgin for four or more years. Newer hires will receive a smaller percentage of pay, starting at 25 percent for those who've been at the company two years or less.

Additionally, it only applies to those parents who work for Virgin Management, the company's investment and licensing headquarters based in London and Geneva. In total, the management sector employs about 140 people.

CEO Josh Bayliss, however, praised the program, referring to it as "a ground-breaking move."

In a statement, Branson said,

If you take care of your employees, they will take care of your business. As a father and now a 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 as we continue to our work in changing business for good.

That new job is looking really good right about now, huh?

Citations: Richard Brandson grants new fathers at Virgin up to 12 months paternity leave (The Independent)