Dive Brief:

• Virgin Management, part of Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group, has introduced a year’s full pay for employees taking maternity, paternity, or adoption leave once staff have accrued four years’ service with the organization, according to Employee Benefits UK. 
• Important to note: Virgin Management is the investment and brand licensing arm of the global Virgin Group—so this policy only affects around 140 people employed at offices in London and Geneva. All working parents at Virgin Management, irrespective of gender, are to be given up to 100% of their basic salary over 52 weeks. 
• Employees with less than four years’ service will have their pay during parental leave calculated on a pro-rated basis. For example, those with less than two years’ service will receive 25% of their basic salary.

Dive Insight:

Josh Bayliss, chief executive officer at Virgin Management, said: “We pride ourselves on our family-friendly and home/work-life policies, from parental leave and unlimited leave entitlement to flexible working." He added that the introduction of the new shared parental leave legislation in the UK was a great opportunity for Virgin Management to review its existing maternity, paternity and adoption benefits, and offer "something special" to the staff.

Sir Richard Branson, Virgin Group founder, added: “If you take care of your employees they will take care of your business."

While it only covers a small portion of Virgin's global workforce of 50,000, it's still a very nice perk for new parents.