No. You must (at present) give up to six months of unpaid leave to mothers in the first year of their baby's life (if they want it), and more limited amounts to parents of young or very dependant children. Otherwise you are under no obligation to give anyone unpaid time off. It may be worth your while to do so, if this is a valued worker whom you would otherwise lose, but if so, make it plain that this is an exceptional case.
