Virgin Group to Give Some Moms and Dads Full Year of Paid Parental Leave
LONDON, June 10 (UPI) — Virgin Group announced Wednesday it is giving a full year’s paid leave to both new mothers and fathers. Some of them, at least.
Under the company’s new shared parental leave system, employees working for Virgin Management can take up to the first year off after the birth or adoption of a child. Full pay is extended to employees who have worked with the company more than four years, 25 percent to those with fewer than two years’ service.
“If you take care of your employees, they will take care of your business,” said Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Group.
“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 our work in changing business for good.”
While it seems as though the new program could cripple Virgin financially, it’s important to note only 140 people work for Virgin Management, the investment and brand licensing office for the company located in London and Geneva. The generous parental leave program isn’t offered to all of Virgin Group’s 50,000 employees worldwide.
