To those UPS employees who pop by here. Don't be bullied by UPS's stance on dependancy leave. There is no limit on how much time you can take off. More UPS lies.
from the Direct.gov website
How much time you are allowed to take off
You are allowed 'reasonable' time off to deal with the emergency and make any arrangements that are needed. There's no set amount of time allowed to deal with an unexpected event involving a dependant - it will vary depending on what the event is but for most cases one or two days should be sufficient to deal with the problem. For example, if your child falls ill you can take enough time off to deal with their initial needs, such as taking them to the doctor and arranging for their care. However, you will need to make other arrangements if you want to stay off work longer to care for them yourself. If both parents wish to take time off for a dependant you should try to adopt a common-sense approach with your employer. Both parents may need to take time off work if your child has had a serious accident, however it is unlikely to be necessary if the childminder fails to turn up.
There's no limit to the number of times you can take time off for dependants, provided it's for real emergencies. If your employer feels that you are taking more time off than they can cope with, they should warn you of this. If you need to be off for longer than you thought to deal with something, contact your employer as soon as you can to let them know why and how long you might need. Try to give them these details in writing as soon as you can. Your employer may have a form they will need you to fill in.
Being paid for your time off
Your employer doesn't have to pay you for time off for dependants but they may choose to do so. You can check your contract of employment to see if there's a policy about this.
Note to CIPD, What was that about HR being professional?
