My point is there's never a "good time" to get fired from a job you don't want to leave. GP doesn't like that this guy was fired on parental leave. OK so fire him on his first day back? There's never a time that won't "suck."
Paternity leave is likely worse, due to losing insurance coverage and other benefits that are useful and otherwise costly for a newborn.
Yes, there is COBRA and he is probably doing just fine financially, but significant unplanned changes in income/costs are never fun