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AIBU?

Jury duty when you're on low income/benefits

72 replies

QuimJongUn · 17/05/2017 12:13

DH is currently on jury duty. He has to pay for train tickets to the court every day and buy his own drinks/lunch etc. Which is fine - he'll get fully reimbursed when his service ends.

I was thinking, though, what do you do if you're on a very low income, or benefits? His transport/basic food is costing him around £10 a day. If you're on benefits, over a fortnight that's almost all your money gone. What do you do for grocery shopping/bills etc? It's all very well to say it'll be reimbursed but if you've noone to borrow it from and no savings, you're fucked. And if you refuse to do it, you could get a £1,000 fine.

It seems very unfair to me. Saying you can't afford it isn't a legitimate excuse to be excused, either. Surely it needs looking at?

OP posts:

Report

RueDeWakening · 17/05/2017 14:05

I was called to the Old Bailey when my now 10 year old was a newborn, it was deferred.

I've actually just been called again, to a more local court, and start on Monday! Other than the hassle of small kids and no childcare in place because I'm the SAHP, DH being heavily involved in the election so having to take time away from that, and it completely clashing with half term, I'm quite looking forward to it.

NotPennysBoat · 17/05/2017 14:12

I did JS just before Christmas. Childcare is most definitely NOT an excuse not to do it!

ScarletSienna · 17/05/2017 14:18

I think for many, it's not that they don't want to do it but that childcare and money are big issues that there are not always solutions for. My husband took holiday to cover my two weeks as there was no other answer so I can see how for single parents it would be even harder. Dont assume everyone agrees with trial by jury either!

I think it would be good if everyone was only called once in a lifetime rather than after two years being back in the selection pot.

QuimJongUn · 17/05/2017 14:22

I think it must differ from area to area. Where DH is, there's no alternative to waiting until the trial is over before you can claim expenses.

Those on benefits often get subsidised transport, and you could bring in a packed lunch and bottle of water. I don't see the issue Tbh

Subsidised transport (and I've never heard of this for those on UC/JSA etc) is still an outlay that somebody getting by on £10 a day can I'll afford. Ditto packed lunches/drinks.

I thought jurors got a meal allowance? Pretty sure they do in the court I work from

If there's on-site catering they do. Otherwise it's a £5.17 daily allowance, paid in arrears.

I think it's bloody entitled to think everyone's problems are less important than yours

I think that if feeding yourself/your family is going to prove difficult, or you're a carer, or have very young children, your reasons for not being able to do it are legitimate. To be threatened with a whopping great fine if you can't is pretty outrageous imo.

OP posts:

Laulau79 · 17/05/2017 14:27

I've just finished a four month trial and the only work excuse to get out of it was if you were a sole trader even then you had to stand up in front of the judge & explain your situation, people with children got £3.50 per hour for childcare.
We also got £5.71 per day for food, travel reimbursement & loss of earnings that was payed every two weeks. It is quite difficult to get out of it now the rules have changed even police, barristers & judges get called

BollardDodger · 17/05/2017 14:30

To be threatened with a whopping great fine if you can't is pretty outrageous imo.
And its hardly going to result in a fair trial if people in the jury are there under duress.

BeyondStrongAndStable · 17/05/2017 14:35

Being a carer (or disabled and unable to do it) counts as an adequate reason afaik to not attend
Same for a very young baby, I do believe?

Ethylred · 17/05/2017 14:37

You get travel expenses and lunch.

Jury duty, along with paying taxes, is a price to be paid for living in the society we have. Suck it up.

ZilphasHatpin · 17/05/2017 14:45

I've so far avoided being called for JS but I'm about to become a childminder and was wondering if that would allow me to be excused if I ever was called. Does anyone know?

ScarletSienna · 17/05/2017 14:45

Ethyl have you rtft? You often get reimbursed a good few weeks after you've paid out and many don't have the money there to begin with. So, yeah, suck up your financial difficulties, paupers, right?

QuimJongUn · 17/05/2017 14:53

Jury duty, along with paying taxes, is a price to be paid for living in the society we have. Suck it up

So if you have to decide whether to spend the £10 a day you have to live on on getting to court, lunch etc OR feed yourself/your family but face a £1k fine, should you 'suck that up' too?

OP posts:

QuimJongUn · 17/05/2017 14:53

Jury duty, along with paying taxes, is a price to be paid for living in the society we have. Suck it up

So if you have to decide whether to spend the £10 a day you have to live on on getting to court, lunch etc OR feed yourself/your family but face a £1k fine, should you 'suck that up' too?

OP posts:

QuimJongUn · 17/05/2017 14:56

Zilpha no, it wouldn't. You'd get a daily allowance back from the court to cover lost earnings after he trial - it's about £30 a day if the trial lasts less than a fortnight. Because that's a fair amount to cover a day's earnings, apparently

OP posts:

EB123 · 17/05/2017 15:00

I sometimes think about this.

I have three children and home educate my eldest (he is 6), my 1 and 4 year old are also at home. They have never been in childcare and I don't have anyone who could look after them for the duration of a trial.

OhFuds · 17/05/2017 15:01

I've done jury duty twice, the 1st time I lost a weeks wages as I was zero hours and my employer wouldn't sign the form as she said there was no guarantee she would have asked me to work that week!

The 2nd time I was a SAHM so only lost on on some petrol as the court only paid transport from my home to the court. I had to pass the court every day to drop the DC's at their grans then go back. Lunch and snacks were provided for the week tho which was nice.

GreatFuckability · 17/05/2017 15:02

Those on benefits often get subsidised transport

erm.....no, they don't!

cherrytree63 · 17/05/2017 15:10

I've done jury service twice. I worked in the NHS and received my normal wages both times. Travel expenses were reimbursed within a month.
We

cherrytree63 · 17/05/2017 15:12

....posted too soon...
We were given "credit" cards to use for the canteen, what we didn't spend was added to our travel expenses.

cherrytree63 · 17/05/2017 15:18

Irrelevant to the OP, but I was working at different trusts when I did my stints. At one I was expected to return to work after finishing JS for the day.
For my 2nd trial I went into work when we weren't at court due to judges sentencing other cases, and got told off! My manager would not believe I was on Jury service as days off a trial just could not happen in her opinion!

ZilphasHatpin · 17/05/2017 15:19

Thanks OP! That's worrying.

BollardDodger · 17/05/2017 15:23

People who don't want to do jury service could always consider taking themselves off the electoral roll. There were noises about not being on the electoral roll being decriminalised - don't know how far that got. Notice that the electoral registrars are in breach of the Data Protection Act by not telling you that the electoral roll is used to select people for jury service.

BollardDodger · 17/05/2017 15:25

At one I was expected to return to work after finishing JS for the day
That could be contempt of court, as being expected to go to work could mean that you are not fit for jury the next day

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BollardDodger · 17/05/2017 15:30

I've just finished a four month trial and the only work excuse to get out of it was if you were a sole trader
I was under the impression that if a trial was over 3 weeks they asked for volunteers

LittleWingSoul · 17/05/2017 15:34

Am I missing the point about the expense of lunch? Surely you'd have to eat whether you were at home, work or on jury service? Don't see how lunch would put you out of pocket. Take a packed lunch!

Weeks out of work though... that's what I'd dread, as I'm on a zero-hour contract and could lose more hours of work than just the jury time if I were to take it off. Oh and of course child care... But I guess if I was called I'd do my best to attend!

What happens if the trial goes on for say, more than a month and you really really can't afford to lose any more hours of work?

LurkingHusband · 17/05/2017 15:43

I was under the impression that if a trial was over 3 weeks they asked for volunteers

Not sure how I would feel being tried by people who actually volunteered for the privilege ...

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