The Guardian

At last! Paid days off for new pet owners are a sign of progress | Paul Fleckney

More and more businesses are offering paid days off to those welcoming new furry friends. But can we not call it ‘pawternity leave’, please?
‘All you want to do is hang out together for a few days.’ Photograph: Valery Matytsin/TASS

Any adult who’s had a pet will know the feeling. You’ve just got home with Moggie/Fido/Scargill, and all you want to do is hang out together for a few days, do some bonding, introduce your new animal to the idea of not pissing on everything in sight. Instead, the next day you have to trudge into work to hang out with other human beings, with their endless questions and tea rounds. Ugh.

Enter . Let’s leave aside the mildly irritating term, which is up and for infantilising this once-great nation. Essentially, employees are allowed a little paid leave so that they can spend time with their new pet and settle them in. It’s on the up, and it’s a good thing.

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