August 29th 2023.
Some people just know how to play the game. Being an adult can be tough when you only have 28 days of annual leave to work with. That's why some desperate souls have resorted to desperate measures, like pretending to have a child to get some time away from their desk.
One man wrote into the Fesshole Twitter account to confess that he had been doing this for the past five years. He was single and didn't actually have any kids, but he had set up a random baby photo as his phone screensaver to make it look like he had a kid, and would switch it out whenever he faked paternity leave.
In the UK, fathers can take one to two weeks of leave in the first 56 days of their child being born, and qualify for statutory paternity pay of around £172.48. All you need to do is fill out a form with the due date and when you want your leave to start - but you don't need to provide proof of the pregnancy or birth.
However, some commenters on the thread noted that bigger companies with Human Resources departments may ask for a maternity certificate to prove the birth. Lying about this is a big risk, as if he got caught he would likely be fired for gross misconduct and getting a reference would be impossible.
But, when it comes to playing the game, this man is currently winning - until he gets accused of fraud.
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