I work part time for a Bank, and have been with the same employer for 25yrs.
In my experince it all comes down to who your Management is at that time.
11 yrs ago when my husband was diagnosed with a brain tumour, I was given 3 months unpaid leave to care for him through 7 weeks of radiation treatment.
At times I still had to use up all my sick leave which is 10 days a year, all my annual leave for days when he was poorly or ended up in hospital with infections.
They would not allow me to swap any of my days of work if it clashed with hospital appointments
When I was at work they made no allowances whatsoever for my work load, and denied my requests for light duties. I had 2 young children at that time.
11 yrs later, my husband is still doing well
but I now care for my Mum with AD and Dad with MCI.
In comparison, they allowed me to swap my days of work for me to attend a Dementia Carers course. They agreed to me increasing my hours but cutting back a day, so I now only work 3 days.
If I get to work a bit late, they don't harass me ( as long as I don't make a habit of it
)
They allow me to work public holidays, so I can accrue an extra day off, if I need to use over and above my sick leave entitlements.
On my 25 yrs service I got an extra 2 weeks annual leave. They have agreed to me taking it at very short notice if, there should be any issues with Mum or Dad.
All very different to 11 years ago.