Would it be unreasonable to ask for a week's unpaid leave to move home?

I’ve never heard of anyone taking a week off to move, but it definitely wouldn’t hurt to ask!
Best of luck with it all.

All you can do is ask. Lots of workplaces now have stopped allowing unpaid leave though as if every member of staff wants an extra week of leave then it can make staffing cover a challenge.

Or you could go off sick and self cert given you’re actually not well?

In our organisation you technically have to take your AL before being able to take the 5 additional unpaid allowed by policy - do you have a policy around unpaid leave?

Does the menopause policy refer to unpaid leave as a possibility?
I'm wondering why you think unpaid leave would be better than paid sick leave. You sound stressed and exhausted, and I would have thought your GP would be willing to sign you off for a week or 2 to give you a chance to rest and recover.
But check the policy first, so thaty you know what is reasonable to request.

You can ask, but whether your manager agrees would depend on the workload and other factors to do with your job. Maybe sick leave would be more appropriate, and maybe HR/occupational health would be a better starting point for discussing this. Also, planning in advance how the workload would be managed during your week's leave might make your argument more convincing.

3 and a bit weeks is a lot to save tho unless it’s a very complex move
surely you move on the friday ideally, and unpack over a weekend and then do stuff over time?
it sounds like you need leave now rather than banking it all tho so I’d take paid leave and then worry house the house move

You can ask, but I imagine they would request that you use your holiday days first before they considered giving you a week unpaid leave.

Do you have any under 18s? If so you can take it off as a week of ordinary parental leave. You don't need to give a reason or explanation as to what you will be doing during that week. I take one every year.

No that's what your annual leave is for. You can't take unpaid leave to move when it's a planned move and you still have 14 days in the bank (that's nearly 3 weeks in itself)

I am not quite sure what you are saving your leave for. Why not use that?
At most, people I know get given a day for moving. You might be lucky to get 2.

If you are really against using your leave (which I am not clear about why) as others have said if you are that unwell then a visit to your GP and asking to be signed off would be a good option.

I was going to suggest a week of parental leave - they can give it to you for a different week but they can’t say No otherwise. Worth looking up on gov.uk.

Or you could take sick leave?

You can ask, but depending on your employer’s policy on unpaid leave, they may refuse your request. Most workplaces would make an employee use their holiday entitlement before granting any unpaid leave.

Do you have children under the age of 18? If do you are entitled to take unpaid parental leave and your employer cannot refuse it. (Although they can ask you to postpone it- but only if it will cause operational difficulties)

When does your leave year end? You said you hadn’t taken leave to save it for the move, so surely you take a week now? Three weeks is a lot of as hoc days to need - use your annual leave and have the time that you know you need now, rather than saving for hypothetical time you might need.

In case this is relevant for you OP -

https://www.gov.uk/parental-leave

You have almost 3 weeks leave left @ecocredentials can you not use some of that?

Does it roll over? Why are you so intent on keeping so much leave back?

(I always try to keep a week back but I am on my own with young kids so I need a little wriggle room)

Does your menopause policy allow for any reasonable adjustments? Increased wfh or a spell of reduced hours so you catch up on rest?

Do you have children under 18 and are you in the UK? If so you can ask for unpaid parental leave and give a reason like needing to move the family home and settle the children in a new location. You have to ask some time in advance. I think that depends on your employer (I’ve had two months notice and 21 days’ notice.)

I’d certainly consider it as a manager in charge of these decisions. Too many variables though. We did give UL to someone who had maxed out their sick after a bereavement. More unusual to do it for a short period. Bit of an HR pain.
Is it Civil Service so until end of Feb?
When is the move? You could eke it out with loads of 4-5 days weekends. Makes going back to work easier too when you take shorter more frequent breaks.

All you can do is ask. I took unpaid leave 8 years ago during the house move from hell everything that could go wrong went wrong. I worked for a small family run business and things were quiet so I think it suited them as well.

You have 14.5 days until the end of year (I'm assuming you are referring to December not a holiday year that ends during 2027). Take 5 days (1 week) to move house.

You will still have almost another full 2 weeks to take Sept-Dec plus The Christmas bank holidays.

If that still isn't enough and you feel awful you can take sick leave or revisit unpaid leave at that later point. I think your manager might wonder why you are asking for extra leave while sitting on almost 3 weeks allowance.

Do you have any other options eg some organisations let you "buy" more annual leave. Do you have kids under 18 - a week of unpaid parental leave?

I would follow the advice upthread and just take a weeks sick leave. Dont give them your new address for a few months in case they suspect. Just have your mail redirected.

It does sound unreasonable to me.

You have almost 3 week of AL left.

If you feel you need a week off now, and there is enough staff cover for you to be able to take it now, then take it. You'd still have 9 days left to last you through to the end of the year.
If you still feel exhausted at some point in the Autumn and have used up all your leave, then you will need to take sick leave. Or, I suppose, request it then.

It doesn't sound unreasonable at all to me but I am in a similar situation to you (perimenopausal and living through the most stressful house move ever). Last year my manager actually suggested I take a couple of weeks off sick as I was so unwell and exhausted!

If I were you I'd take a week of self-certified sick leave now as you are genuinely struggling with your health. And worry about annual leave etc. at a later date.

Edited to add: you don't sound pathetic at all. Is a nine day fortnight an option going forward?