Richard Branson offers 140 lucky Virgin employees a year of paid parental leave

Richard Branson is letting his staff take off whenever they want for as long as they want

(Image credit: Paul Kane/Getty Images)

last updated 11 June 2015

Virgin Management may not be the most glamorous corner of Richard Branson's empire to work for, but the employees of Virgin Group's finance and brand-licensing branch just got a really big perk — at least those of them who will have a child or adopt one. Branson, already vying for World's Best Boss title for offering unlimited vacation to the Virgin Management staff, is now offering new parents — birth or adoption, male or female — 52 weeks of paid parental leave.

Only employees who have been with Virgin Management for four years get 100 percent of their salary for the year, but all employees get at least 25 percent. The offer is good for the roughly 140 employees at Virgin Management's London and Geneva offices. Virgin Management CEO Josh Bayliss said the new policy was inspired by Britain's new Shared Parental Leave law, which lets working parents divide 50 weeks of parental leave (37 of them paid) in any way they see fit.

Branson described the year of parental leave in more personal terms. "As a father and now a grandfather 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," he said Wednesday. "Being able to spend as much time as possible with your loved ones is absolutely vital, especially early on." But he also made the business case: "If you take care of your employees they will take care of your business. As The Economist explains in the video below, the data actually backs that up. Peter Weber

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.