To think jury duty is going to ruin my summer plans

[sulkingaboutjuryduty]

Got my jury duty summons which I was fairly gutted about, having recently returned from mat leave, I'm a part time accountant and I love my job.

Asked to defer and was declined, so it starts on 16th August. I have a 15 month old and a 3.5year old, the 3.5 year old has 30 free hours which I use on my 3 working days and then the baby is with my mum. In six week holidays I was planning to take a mixture of annual leave, pay for holiday clubs and mum will help out a bit. Now there will be at least 2 weeks of their "school holidays" where I can't do anything with them, I've got to fork out for childcare over and above my working pattern and reading the leaflet, it doesn't qualify for claiming back?

My work have been great and said they will pay my normal salary so I won't need to claim loss of earnings but if I've got to put them in childcare it's going to cost me a fortune! My mum can't have them on my non working weekdays as she works, the baby will need a settling in period and the childcare setting I use require a months' notice to terminate so I'm looking at possibly six weeks nursery fee for her.
I'm just feeling like I will be significantly impacted by this.

[WorraLiberty]

@IamnotSethRogan

If it makes you feel better, it's likely you may get dismissed after a week. My DH was summoned recently and him along with most of the others were.

They days were also very short. He was home by 1/2 pm most days

My DH's jury duty ended up just over 11 weeks long.

[Womendohavevaginasnick]

I got sent home on my first day, it was a lockdown hearing and they asked if anyone didn't want to be there. I put my hand up and said I had kids to homeschool and they sent me on my way. About ten of us left before they even started the selection process. You might not even get selected.

[DancesWithTortoises]

Counting the months to my 70th birthday. I've never been called and don't want to be.

OP, you have a strong case for deferral, try again.

[HazelBite]

@Zzelda
I think you have your wires crossed, it was the case years ago but nowadays even Judges are called on jury service.

[RealhousewifeofStoke]

Your husband will have to sort his own lunches out rather than relying on his mother. Same with parts/repairs. If they have a breakdown the whole operation stops and he can run around picking up parts himself.
Out of interest how many acres do you farm?

[UseOfWeapons]

I’ve been called twice. The first time I went, and it was both interesting and boring, long periods when the jury was excused so they could argue a point without our opinions being influenced. That was two weeks, but home early most days, and the trial of one case collapsed on the first day. They did tell us on the first day that we may be picked for a 6week trial, and if we had difficulties with that to tell them and they’d accommodate it.
The second time, my employer cited that was an essential worker (NHS) and our service would suffer, and I was released.
Like you, I’m a planner, and there’s still time to ring them and try and see what the options are available. You can then make a plan on that basis. I hope you managed to find a reasonable person to help you sort this out, so difficult with children!

However, you are being unreasonable about wearing a mask for 6+ hours a day. It is a requirement inside a building to be COVID-safe, and my colleagues and I, no matter whether we are in the office, or clinically engaged with patients, we wear them for 10+ hours a day.

Good luck, and hope harvest goes well!💐

[sulkingaboutjuryduty]

@cptartapp my father is a farmer and so will also be busy.
My FIL is in his 80s and I wouldn't trust him to look after my socks let alone my children.

I know this forum is quick to castigate men but give your head a wobble. If I'm reluctant to put my baby in a childcare setting she's not used to and I've not cited anyone else as a a suitable option to leave my children for 6+ hours, why have you brought up the men? Just to try and discredit them?

[Muststopeating]

Honestly, I found it absurd that they can expect that all parents can just hand off their children for an undisclosed period of time and outwith normal school hours.

It has annoyed me enough that during the pandemic no childcare = no antenatal care.

I'd be very very tempted to take the smallest small with me, explain that there is no childcare available and that if you'd left them at home you'd find yourself in that same court! They'll soon send you home again (or to jail but that would make a cracking headline).

And I say this as someone who does have a lot of support. Still doesn't mean I can expect any of them, or even a combination of them to drop everything to look after my children for 2 weeks+. If a child isn't already in some sort of childcare setting then dropping them in short term (AND full time) is not realistic.

[sulkingaboutjuryduty]

@RealhousewifeofStoke we farm 4,000 acres, my husband does sort his own lunch but we have harvest students and they are provided with lunch as part of their contract. We are running two combines, six grain trailers and following the harvest with the cultivators, if one machine breaks down we absolutely do not stop, my MIL is employed for this role on the farm.

[Frazzled2207]

@MagicSummer

Notwithstanding OP's problem, it does concern me that people seem to be cheering people who have 'got out' of doing Jury Service. It is a public duty (and there aren't many opportunities to do those) and actually is a very interesting and rewarding experience. I have done two stints and found it a great opportunity to learn about the judicial process.

Op is not saying she won’t do it. But the precise timing doesn’t work for her. Later in the autumn sounds like it would be much more doable.

[SpiderinaWingMirror]

The system is out of step really, or a blunt tool at best.
My current stingy employer doesn't pay. (Everywhere else I worked did).
The most you can claim is 64 quid per day and the includes childcare. So it's not earnings plus childcare, its that for both. Or 35 for a half day.
That doesn't even approach average earnings and could well tip some, especially young families into financial distress.
We are not in the 1950s where you could just pop the kids round to Marj for the day.
In your shoes I'd turn up day one with grey eyeshadow smudged under each eye in a state of dishelvment

[lardylegs123]

I'm 47 years old and have never once been called up for jury duty. And I don't remember anyone at the school where I work being called up either. I'd love to be, so the selection process seems mad!

[Frazzled2207]

OP my mother was called fairly recently and she and many of the others were dismissed on the first day because of various complications with their availability.
Suspect you really want to try and get out of it or at least defer it before then though. I don’t think they can expect you to source new childcare for the child.
A friend did it recently too and she had to put her child in nursery for extra days and the older child in after school club -not ideal but ALL the costs were refunded.
If you don’t have that option available though, it’s different.

[Cowbells]

OP I really feel for you but it could be a blessing in disguise if you have been called to a local court. You might get a simple theft case and be discharged within two days., I turned down jury service at the local court as it clashed with the run up to exams when I was at the time tutoring lots of GCSE and A level pupils. My claim was upheld but next year I got called to Old Bailey. You can't refuse twice.I ended up on a hideous murder trial that ran on for nearly two months and gave me nightmares. I lost a superb freelance contract because of it - the best paid of my career. It will be deeply inconvenient to you but it's not the end of the world and you should be clear within two weeks.

[Doidontimmm]

I was called when my daughter was a baby, I called and said I refuse to find a random nursery, settle her in and put her in an unknown setting, they cannot possibly expect me to do this. They agreed.

[lovemakespeace]

I think I got called up when my kids were similar age. I was BF morning only.

I just said that - I'm still breastfeeding. It was cancelled.

Not sure if it would have worked or not with her feed but for me it was also indicative of having a very dependent child.

Honestly OP try again at moving or cancelling it. There are LOADS of people in the country in a much better position to do this than you.

[TatianaBis]

I find the whole thing slightly misogynist tbh. Expecting you to find FT childcare for a 15 month year old. They can’t just assume you’re ok with putting a child that age in a nursery - some parents are not.

I would just say - no I am not putting so young a child in a nursery in a pandemic.

If you cannot appeal the refusal further, I would write to your MP, CCing jury duty.

Alternatively, take the baby with you and say, as per your application to defer, you could not get childcare.

[RealhousewifeofStoke]

4,000 acres. What’s the farms annual turnover?
Am sure you could stretch to paying a family friend/niece/nephew/neighbour/childcare student/teaching student to help you out with childcare and making lunches or running with parts.

It’s your civic duty. And you’ve clearly never been in the position of being the victim, or family of the victim of a crime requiring a jury trial. As I hope you never are.
But your talk around claiming for childcare, given your family circumstances are beyond ridiculous.
Good luck and I have no doubt you’ll get out of it.

[TatianaBis]

@Doidontimmm

I was called when my daughter was a baby, I called and said I refuse to find a random nursery, settle her in and put her in an unknown setting, they cannot possibly expect me to do this. They agreed.

Good.

[21Flora]

All these people commenting about your husband stopping the harvest have no idea what they are on about 😂 getting the harvest in will likely be the basic of the entire years income. You are expecting OPs husband to throw away a years work!? If the combine stops, everything stops.

[Congressdingo]

@sulkingaboutjuryduty

Also, not in any way relevant to my refused deferral but in the pack I received yesterday, there is a covid advice leaflet stating that whilst we are inside the court building, we are required to wear a mask. So that is what? 6 hours + a day in a face mask? But when I'm in the office I don't wear one.

The mask wearing is irrelevant, I wear one for 8 hours a day minus breaks. So dont think of complaining about that.

I did jury service, luckily I was very part time and the money they paid covered my wage. I was down for two weeks but they let me go after 6 days. Alot went home the first day but that doesn't help you. You need childcare arranged in case you cant get out if it.

[AnneElliott]

I've done jury service and loved it - but I do think they should have deferred yours. I'd suggest going on day 1 and speaking to the Clerk that's looking after the jurors.

I got DH out of it by setting out his disability and what adjustments would need to be made for him. They have excused him for life - he was thrilled as he didn't want to do it.

[Mumofsend]

@realhousewifeofstoke clearly you don't grasp how tight margins are for farmers.

[LizzieW1969]

I'm another one who has never been called up for jury service and would like to be (I'm 51). It seems ridiculous, when there are a lot of people who would be able to do it (and would actually relish the opportunity) that they won't allow people with childcare or other caring responsibilities to opt out.

[worriedaboutN]

When I got summoned I had a 10 month old bf baby and I asked to defer and got rejected

I told them I refused and I wouldn’t be attending. My baby was still being bf multiple times a day and we contact napped so I wasn’t able to go.
I sent a gp letter too explaining it would be detrimental to my mental health and they still tried to refuse a deferral !
In the end the accepted it I literally wouldn’t have turned up though