To ask what happens if you can't afford to do jury service?

[AvocadosBeforeMortgages]

Let me start off by saying that I always thought I'd like to do jury service one day.

Now I've discovered that not only do my employers not pay you when you're on jury service, the rates courts pay you for loss of earnings are paltry - the sum I'd get for the first 10 days would be less than half what I'd actually lose, and rates from day 11 are still less than my wages so I couldn't actually afford to do it www.gov.uk/jury-service/what-you-can-claim

Can you refuse to do jury service on the grounds that you can't afford the loss of earnings? I'm single and have rent to pay, for context.

It's awful that the reimbursement is so low.

But making out your animal is an attachment disordered child is also low, and mocking of those of us who face this daily.

If you work from home, you shouldn't lose too much, as you can work when you're not at the court, or take work with you.

Jury service is essential for our society.

And looking after a dog is nothing like parenting a child with attachment problems, mocking that for your own gain is out of order.

Oh! Didn't read the letter through, I thought it was about a child

No, don't lie. They were quite reasonable with me. DS was ill when my jury service started. They were very understanding and let me defer again for another year.

Dh is self employed and was not excused. He had to show up with loads of other people to see if he was needed. He wasn't fortunately.
Proving loss of earnings seems to be a bit of a process involving paying an accountant.
He wrote a very articulate letter but still not excused. I think he was just unlucky. Loads of people been excused for less.

Write to them explaining your circumstances and asking to be excused, but don't, whatever you do, lie to them.

The information you get with your summons does sound very forbidding and stern because they don't want people messing them about and trying to get out of it for trivial reasons, but a significant loss of earnings isn't trivial and you might find them to be more understanding than you think. After all, they can't guarantee that you won't be asked to sit on a long-running trial, which would be catastrophic for anyone who wasn't getting paid for their absence.

If you are told you can't get out of it, you can defer, but you have to provide them with dates when you would be available, so it's not the ideal situation, since in your case there wouldn't be any more suitable times for you to do it.

I was first called at 18, got all my exspenises covered traumantic casenfor an 18 yr old. Was called again 2 years ago and i deffered it. I think you only defer once.

Husband has never been called and hes older then me. Wouldnt mind doing it again but circumstances are different and i would struggle right now if i couldnt defere again

My son got called up last year he had not long been running his own business and couldn’t just leave it to someone else to run or not work himself. I wrote a letter for him just explaining the financial situation and he never heard back

In my experience, nice letter explaining what’s the issue works well.
I have asked to be excused due to ME (I couldn’t have coped wth tenure service AND looking after my dcs AND still doing some work for my business).
I did go in a bit more details than the letter you are proposing but I think that would be acceptable for them.

I have never been called. My sister was at 18 so around 20 years ago and they wanted her in the middle of A-level exams so she was able to deffer but has never been called again.

My DH is self employed. He was called up and was about to start a 6 month job. The jury money wouldnt have even covered our weekly rent... the guy he was working for wrote in as well and said that if DH wasnt there to start the job it would go to someone else. A really nicy guy from Jury place called DH and said he had been excused, and he was also removed from the list so would never be called up again!

Oh btw, I agree about not lying!!

Most of the time you go just for the one morning and then you’re done. Very few of the people called on the day actually get onto the jury.

EVERYBODY thinks they have a ‘very important’ reason not to do it. I think it’s a bit disgusting to lie about a dog to get out of it. I do have sympathy for self employed people who lose earnings. But it’s a bit like if you had a heart attack, you have to find time to go to the hospital and getting childcare etc. is your responsibility as an adult/parent. Those people who say they have literally nobody to mind their kids.....well, that was always your responsibility to put something in place for emergencies and things like jury duty which are compulsory.

Personally I think how they decide who to call up is a bit suspect.

My DM has been called up twice to do it in 2 years. She refused to do it the second time! DH and DF have never been called up. I've already done it once.

Just tell them the truth. Thankfully my employer still pays me full pay.

I’ve been called up and as a stay at home parent am now having to look into afyerachool childcare for 2 as court can’t tell me the latest I’ll be there until and nursery wraparound for the youngest at £40 a day. Added issues that you need to prebook childcare in advance and I have no idea how long I’ll be there for so how much will court actually cover expenses wise !

I feel your pain. I’ll be hugely out of pocket too when I don’t even earn anything !

i agre hide and go-why do people always say well ive got no childcare

what would u do if you were taken ill then

dont lie just say you wont be able to pay your rent and see what happens

Having no one to mind your kids is valid, as many people don't have friends and family to help and why should they be forced to find childcare when they don't normally use it.

My dd aged 9 is obviously past nursery age but could not be left alone, I would not be able to find childcare for her and she does not go to school.
I would defer for this reason and I would keep deferring.

I absolutely would defer or ask to be excused if I were to lose money too. Are the government going to help if your mortgage doesn't get paid, do they even help with rent?

If I'm taken ill then the kids come with me or go into care if no one can have them, this is the same for many parents without help at all or childcare they can access.

Do a Liz Lemon?

Joke. Don't lie.

You're right. All women with children (or dogs) can be excluded. Better exclude all women of childbearing age.

As can everyone on a middle income, as the reimbursement isn't enough.

All contract workers excluded.

Anyone with caring responsibilities (mostly women, I think that's excluded almost all women now?)

Exclude anyone with health problems, so those on the sick etc.

So, we're left with wealthy men, or unemployed men, deciding if we were raped that night...

Ideal.

I was exempted as I’m a nurse, it said on the form that nurses, fire service etc could ask for this, not sure what I’d have done if I’d been made to do it as have no child care - ex is police so no cover for this, thankful I’ve never been asked again my sister and her husband have though and done it twice.

Hideandgo if it was an emergency my husband would have to stay off work to look after our disabled son. His work, quite reasonably, would not allow it so I could do Jury service and we need his holidays for the standard care needs of our son. If neither of us could look after him then he would have to go into residential care because no one else could manage it.

DH was called when our youngest was 6 months. He asked to be deferred and was for 1 year however then called up again at this point he was self employed. It crippled us financially. They would not excuse him stating that was not a reason and nor would they defer again. On top of that he ended up in a pretty horrific case dealing with child abuse and he had nightmares for years after due to some of the things he had heard.

My darling MIL stepped in when she heard what was going on financially and simply transferred into our account the mortgage for that month. I do miss her.

Yep. That letter is a great idea.

Lie to the courts, inventing a child you have to care for. As a bonus, insult people who really do have traumatised children to care for.

I’ve been called to jury service twice.... both times I was excused as I was breastfeeding. The last time was 15 years ago and I’ve not been called since.

Pre children my employer (a large financial institution) did not pay if you were on jury service and several of my colleagues got into financial difficulties as a result. I was called as a witness in a trial once, I lost two days pay and the expenses I was able to claim from the court worked out to less than two hours pay. Fortunately this didn’t put me in a tricky situation but for some that could have made the difference between paying the bills or not paying the bills.

Am I the only one who realised the OP’s ‘letter’ was a joke? Miserable bunch on here

The UK legal systems (there's more than one as there's more than one country in the UK) work on the

cheap.