To not understand what they expect me to do?

[bloodypublicservice]

I was called up for jury service starting in less than two weeks from now. I work Saturdays only as I otherwise do all of the childcare whilst my partner works full time. Originally I stated I was available as my MIL was going to have our daughter, however MIL has experienced a significant and unexpected health issue resulting in being hospitalised for the foreseeable. I've contacted the relevant department to have received a response stating that my request to be excused from this call for service has been refused and that I must still attend at the stated day/time. It mentions appealing but that a hearing is likely to be called, and given the start date is so soon, it's realistically not going to be resolved before starting.

WIBU to show up on my start date with my child and ask what else they expected me to do? We have no other local family and no provision for external childcare.

You're being pointlessly horrible. What is the op meant to do?

She had childcare until the person was taking into hospital. Her husband can't get time off. It's impossible to get a place in a decent nursery without being on the waiting list.

So tell me, o wise one, what is she meant to do?

Have you never heard of childminders or temp Nannie’s?

Childminders aren’t just sitting around waiting for people to call them you know most are full with waiting lists and as for a nanny, who the fuck is paying that because I can assure you the court will not be covering that expense (plus also again are decent ones just sitting around waiting to be called randomly to work for maybe one day, maybe two weeks?)

She needs to ask a friend to look after her child for a couple of hours on day 1, and she needs to ask to be excused when she’s there.

I had thought of suggesting that family who aren't local stay for a couple of days so that Op can do this but assumed that this would have been thought of.

Is it guaranteed though that she would be excused?

Your employer only covers you needing to do jury service not your partner, so they won’t get time off authorised. This is an unreasonable suggestion.

And no childcare is a reasonable excuse. Turn up with your child in tow if you have no other option. They are unrealistic to expect everyone to be able to drop everything and be able to afford to pay for childcare as you won’t be reimbursed for any costs for this.

Wow angry and foul mouthed, good look! You clearly know nothing about courts or nanny agencies!

Hmm thanks your attempts at belittling me won’t work because I absolutely do know about courts and they won’t pay the costs for a nanny and if one was available at such short notice I wouldn’t be wanting them looking after my child not when I have the option of deferring or just not showing up.

How have you been called so often? I’ve never known anyone who has been called… are you doing it for everyone?!

Who's to say that the op can afford a temp nanny who is likely to cost hundreds of pounds (in my area you're talking at least £300 a week), not to mention it's unfair to her child to leave them with a total stranger for what could be multiple weeks?

I’d want a jury that, if they didn’t actively want to be there, were at least ok with it and clear headed enough to do it properly.

I wouldn’t want a jury comprised of people who were distracted by worrying about their babies who were left with random nannies, or the money they were loosing by not working, or whether the neighbour had remembered to go in and make their elderly mothers lunch.

Id want people with the capacity to do the job properly.

Appeal the decision, if nothing else they will have to delay your jury service until the appeal can be addressed. Put on it that you’re breast feeding and cannot leave baby.

Exactly. What’s the point in dragging in the mum of a young child, who’s stressed because she had to leave her baby with a stranger at short notice whilst also having to pay for it?
Or someone who’s worrying about how they’ll manage their next mortgage payment, because they’re self-employed and only earning when they’re working?
No, I wouldn’t necessarily want them there if a family member had to appear at court.

But you only work Saturday so your partner would only need to take Saturday off. Not 2 weeks.

Who will mind her child Mon to Fri??!!!

Who will mind her child Mon to Fri??!!!

I was thinking that but didn't post in case I had missed something.

Do courts even sit on a Sat?

Childminders have waitlists, same as nurseries. You can't just randomly drop your child off for two weeks with no notice. Doesn't work like that.

Who has the money to pay an emergency nanny for two weeks? Not me that's for sure!

Are you offering to pay this agency nanny indefinitely?

Her husband is entitled to request parental leave in this case and his employer would be extremely unreasonable (and likely taken to task) if they were to refuse it in the situation of jury duty summons. I am largely skeptical when some people claim that their DHs 'can't take annual leave' or 'not at short notice' – in the majority of cases they absolutely can, and they definitely would in a crisis or emergency – they just won't. I doubt OP's DH has even enquired.

Will the government pay for him to be off for two weeks though?

I don't know many people who could give up 2 weeks wages tbh.

I mean ... that's the risk you run when you choose to only have one parent working.

Additionally, OP can claim Juror's Childcare – it is specifically for those needing childcare to serve that they wouldn't ordinarily need it.

I mean... it's not it it. I don't know a single person who's made the decision who should work and when based on whether they might at some point get asked to do jury duty at the same time as their usual childcare has fallen ill. You make these decisions based on day to day finance and affording to live, usually.

Would that pay for an emergency nanny for two weeks?

I mean it's the risk you run is tighter finances when the unexpected occurs.

They pay up to £64.95 a day for excess of childcare required.

Well yes but I'm not sure that makes it okay.

Yeah so likely not enough to actually pay for emergency childcare then.

That is not right, first time I got I was a SAHP, so called to say I could not do it. So had to send in letter to say that. Ridiculous to say you have to go in when you can't.

The loss of earnings to be claimed is also £64.95 a day for the employed – since this only equates to the equivalent of an annual salary £16k a year and many employers will not pay you during jury service, most people will be out of pocket, a lot, when doing service. This isn't a loss that disproportionately affects SAHMs.

£64 a day is a very adequate fee for a childminder. The OP, however, does not want to contact any.