Virgin’s Incredible Paternity Leave Offer: A Third Of Men Would Turn It Down In Favour Of Spending Just Two Weeks With Their Baby

Sir Richard Branson is offering male employees that have worked for Virgin for four years or more a year of FULL PAY paternity leave. But a huge number of men still wouldn’t take it.

Men in the UK are legally entitled to at least two weeks of paternity leave, but some companies offer more. However, as far as we’re aware, no British company’s ever offered their male staff a year off to spend with their bub before – without their pay being docked.

You would think it’s a dream company benefit, but apparently not every guy would jump at the offer to give the day job a miss for 365 days.

In a poll of 500 UK men, 30 per cent confessed that despite Branson's offer, they would only take two weeks paternity leave. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the bulk of the men who admitted this are in the prime of their career and perhaps unwilling to step away from their workload for an entire year.  

Some 23 per cent of the figure were males aged 16-24, 39 per cent were aged 25-34, 27 per cent were aged 35-44 and 11 per cent were aged 45-64.

The survey, conducted by OnePulse, also pulled up some other fairly shocking stats to do with how happy men are with paternity leave as it currently stands.

Only a quarter of men aren’t happy with the options for new dads and think it needs to be improved while 20 per cent of those polled are completely happy with it.

Yet when asked if parents should be allowed equal time off, 79 per cent said they thought that should be the case.

“I would have loved more time off with my young son in his early life but needs must someone has to work and also the needs of breastfeeding was only something my wife could do,” said one of the men polled, whose name is unknown.

“I think the UK should give a full month off paid for men and that would be better”

Another admitted that his views, like many we suspect, are still relatively dated. “I believe the mother needs to bond with the child as much as the father but I am old fashioned and men bring in the money and women nurture," he said.

What do you think? Should men be allowed better paternity leave? Let us know in the comments.

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