Richard Branson Grants New Dads Up to One Year of Paternity Leave with Full Pay

Once again, Richard Branson has proved he’s pretty much the best boss ever.

Making parenthood a little more enticing for his employees, Branson has just granted new fathers at Virgin up to 12 months of paternity leave with full pay.

Yes, I’m serious. And it’s okay to be jealous.

This offer comes in the wake of a new system of shared parental leave recently revealed by the British Government, which allows new parents to divide 50 weeks between them.

Of course, Branson’s offer goes above and beyond that.

Regardless of gender, the full year is offered to all parents at Virgin – including those who adopt. If it sounds too good to be true, it kind of is: only those who have been at Virgin for at least four years will receive the paternity or maternity pay of 100 per cent of their salaries.

Furthermore, the offer’s only valid for employees of Virgin Management, the overarching investment and brand licensing arm of the global Virgin Group. Meaning, it actually only applies to about 140 people employed at the company’s offices in London and Geneva.

Still, the move is pretty groundbreaking.

Of course, Branson knows firsthand how much work it takes to raise a child – he has two of his own and is the proud new grandfather to three. You can check out what he’s learned from becoming a grandfather here.