Virgin allows staff unlimited holiday says Richard Branson

Virgin could be looking at a significant jump in its employer brand after founder Richard Branson announced that staff can have as much time off as they like.

In an extract from his new book, The Virgin Way: Everything I know About Leadership, Branson wrote that in Virgin offices in Britain and the US: “It is left to the employee alone to decide if and when he or she feels like taking a few hours a day, a week or a month off.”

He said the plan worked on the assumption that employees will only take time off when they think it won't impact on them or the company. He added that if it was deemed a success Virgin subsidiaries would be encouraged to also stop counting holiday allowance.