Changing hours to spend time with my very ill Grandpa - any advice?

[oliviabee]

We've just been informed that my grandpa's brain tumour isn't responding to treatment and he doesn't have more than a few weeks. I want to spend as much time as possible with him whilst I still can, but can't afford to completely leave my job / don't want to be spending time looking for a new, part-time role. My dad is moving to be with him and my granny when he comes home from hospital and will have support from a community nurse/Macmillan, so it's not critical that I am there, but I would like to help him. My grandparents house is a four hour drive away and I have a full-time job in digital marketing with slightly flexible hours - usually 8:30-5:30 but can be 7-4 or 10-7. Should I ask to reduce my working hours to four days, so I can drive up on a Thursday night and support my dad and Granny for three days, or ask to fit five days into four? I don't want to 'work from home' on a Friday as I would just do two things badly. Or does anyone have any other suggestions/advice on what I could do?

Do you have annual leave you could use?

If your grandpa only has a few weeks left, the easiest thing would be to see if you can take the next few Fridays as annual leave? Otherwise, perhaps you could work four slightly longer days Mon-Thurs and leave at lunchtime on Friday to have a full weekend with them?

I would use annual leave. If you make a flexible working application it is permanent and don't have any entitlement to just change back to your old hours a few months down the line.

If you don't have annual leave request unpaid leave. It won't change your pension etc in the same way as formally reducing your hours would.
Also, with a four hour drive Thursday night you probably don't want to do compressed hours. Just ask for fridays off.