Hey, so when it comes to AL - as someone who has literally utilised all theirs within their first 6 months of the role (sad times) - you can request leave for whatever and whenever.
Whether they accept it is at their discretion, however they usually will have a good reason for saying no e.g. “everyone in the team is on AL that day, we need you in”.
As for amount of leave, I have never known a company to deny leave requests for being too short. In fact, I think they’d prefer shorter leaves as it doesn’t impact resource as much. It’s leave that is longer than 2 weeks that is usually frowned upon.
My advice would be to wait until you have confirmation and request one day of leave. If you want to get ahead due to notice, then put in a prospective request and say to your manager you will confirm closer to the time.
It’s easier to have leave booked and cancel at the time rather than not have it booked and immediately expect it.
As for reasons, I don’t think you should tell them regardless of whether they support you or not. At the end of the day, they’re a business and you’re their resource. If they have any sense you’re not serious about the role, you may eventually get ignored for promotions because they question how long you’ll actually stay there for. So just say it’s a family event.
