Top management taking Paternity leave, and returning to work as though nothing changed after a few weeks is nothing short of great privilege.

I've seen normal employees take such leave, only return to find others have taken over their work, and by all means they are no longer needed and they have start working their way into the team all over again.

Paternity leave is more or less a kind of paid short term temporary severance already. Sometimes the company does make it permanent.

If you are gone for weeks/months and no one feels any difference, then sometimes its an indication you were never needed at the first place.