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.

That's not quite the same thing is it

Personally I would turn up with my child. Your circumstances have changed and you can't appeal what else are you to do.

I was called up for jury service. The court I needed to be at did not allow me to drop my child off a nursery and pick them up again as the commute was too long. I also only worked part time hours and didn't have child care for the other days. They excused me.

I don't think jury service pays for childcare so why should you be expected to be pay it out of your pocket.

I don't see what the problem is. They've said you can appeal - so appeal! It isn't your issue if they can't sort the hearing in time.

Is this based on actual experience of the system? Because I don't think people are arguing for the sake of it - there's very little flexibility if you are called and it isn't just down to 'jobsworths'. It is the price we pay for living in this system and the cost is that you often have to deal with the issues it raises.

HI I'm an ex court clerk and at times used to work in the jury office of my court. You are entitled to one deferment of jury service but you must do it within the 12 months of original date. So try asking them if you can defer your start date. Usually they argue when it's so close to the start date because they have set trials and have organised for a set amount of jurors to attend. The hearing they mentioned isn't really a hearing its just that they will take you down to speak to a judge who will hear your reasons for not being able to attend jury service and they will make a decision if you do it or not.

I don't disagree in theory but DH couldn't get weeks of annual leave off with little to no notice to have the kids.

Good advice to ask to defer and seek to get things arranged to have childcare for that time.

The idea that you should take time off work because of someone else's jury services is an odd one. I know my employer would likely refuse such a request on short notice as our jury service policies only apply if an employee has been called up directly and they would generally need more notice for annual leave.

Why do students taking exams need to be included? Students in general - okay, but why necessarily those who are in their final year and/ or in the middle of their exams?
Same goes for parents with small children - why isn’t it enough if parents of (primary) school children participate or parents of younger kids who are already in day care? It would still be a cross section of society. Otherwise where do you draw the line - perhaps mothers of newborns also shouldn’t be excused?
And forcing people who can’t afford jury duty during a COL crisis just seems cruel.

Completely agree. There’s no chance I’d leave my child with an unknown childminder. What are you supposed to do if a childminder becomes ill on the day? You can’t just offload your child on some random even if possible.

If I were hospitalised, my partner would take EDL and/or my own parents would do the same and travel a couple of hours to my house.

Being hospitalised in an emergency and attending jury service are two very different kettles of fish.

He gets 3 EDL days per year. He'd otherwise have to go AWOL, not only financially but without permission too as they will not allow him to take leave with such short notice for something not considered an emergency.

Sorry you’re getting really dumb responses on here OP. You’re quite obviously not going to leave your baby in random childcare (even if you could find it). And why should you be financially disadvantaged as a family (even if your husband could get energy cut unpaid leave). It actually baffles me how anti-child ppl on here are. Surely what’s in the child’s best interests should come top. My youngest is 18m, I have two others in school who I obvs have to care for and transport. There’s no chance I’d be doing jury duty. I don’t give a fig if it’s my ‘civic duty’; my family comes first. And that includes not having to cancel our holiday bcos my husband has to take 2 weeks’ unpaid leave.

It’s a shame you were so willing in the first place (that’s not a criticism btw), as it’ll be harder to get a delay due to bf/young age of child. I think you just have to ring and keep ringing until they agree to sort it, and if needs be turn up with your child. Good luck!

Everyone here is saying OP has no choice but to take the child there but isn’t it actually the case that the husband has no choice but to look after the child? The OP legally has to go and do jury service if they don’t defer it, literal police turning up at the house job. Therefore, as she has no choice but to be there, the husband has to stay home and look after the child. His work might not like it, but what’s the husband going to do, leave a 14 month old home alone? Maybe he should be ridiculous and take the child there as there’s no other option? It doesn’t sound like his work has even been spoken to about the situation as OP is so sure they won’t like it. Parents were also mentioned as an option if hospitalisation had occurred. Well, if husband is absolutely determined to not annoy his work by taking the whole 2 weeks then could they not do a couple of days? It doesn’t have to be they all do all or nothing. OP might be sent home after a few days anyway and all the stressing of what might be will have been for nothing. It’s literally the law, the only one who can’t get out of it is the OP, husband will just have to figure it out.

You must appeal, I was in a similar situation and wanted to be excused. I was told no initially but invited to appeal. There was no hearing and the decision came through within a couple of days. I was excused.

This, and using the link I posted earlier, is what you need to do. A lot of the other comments on here are just whataboutery and I’m afraid the court service has rules, and applies them. Appeal, and ask to defer.

I work one day a week, having pre-child worked full time earning about 80% of what DH does. I now earn roughly 15% of DH, so our household income has dropped by around 35%.

Our bills and food/fuel/necessities account for around 90% of our income; we've made a huge sacrifice in free cash flow in order for me to effectively be a SAHM. If DH takes 2, or even 1.5 weeks off unpaid, we either don't eat or don't pay our bills. It's that simple.

As for my parents, they both work full time with mortgages to pay themselves and commitments to care for their own parents. Yes, they would of course help in an emergency, but as I said previously, jury duty is not an emergency and I am not putting pressure on them to either use their annual leave or take unpaid leave, as well as forgo other responsibilities, to drive a considerable distance and back on two separate occasions to pick up the childcare for a reason that it's anecdotally evident hasn't been necessary for a fair number of other people.

I don’t think you’re understanding that it is legally binding. They will hopefully defer you but if they don’t you have no choice. You have put the stipulation of ‘emergency’ on your parents’ help and decided that this doesn’t qualify. If you have literally no other option and you legally have to do this then it is the equivalent of an emergency. You don’t have to like it, we can all know that it’s terribly awkward and feels really unfair but none of that makes a blind bit of difference to the law at the end of the day and the law says you have to do it unless they defer it and you can’t take your child with you (especially when you do actually have two, far from ideal but still existing, options).

They will defer it. You are not free to do it. Some people here are being extremely obtuse. The OP has many times over explained that she would love to, but is no longer in a position to do it. Of course her OH is no going to take unpaid leave. There are millions of people they can call in. There will be reserve lists and there will be people keen to do it. She has given them 2 weeks notice with a very reasonable reason. PP saying she can leave her 14 month old baby with a neighbour for 2 weeks lol.what a ridiculous suggestion. Or magic up a nursery..in 2 weeks? Do people on here even know how nurseries work? Waiting lists, then pay a month in advance, start settling in sessions etc. It took 6 months to get a space for 2 half days for us.

I don't know why people are trying to make you feel bad when it's very obvious, you can't do it. People can defer if they have a holiday booked so no childcare is something they will be understanding of.

A cross-section of society can include the students and people who have had children, just not at the exact moment that makes their life so much harder. University fees at £9,000, potentially missing lectures or tutorials and then having a poorer final result as a consequence is too high a price to pay for a student who could defer jury service for a few months. I know you said your DS was told no exceptions but there clearly are exceptions as my brother and I were both excused several years apart, rightly so, as there is a very real chance of a student’s future being impacted negatively by doing jury service at that time. Many students I know also deferred jury service until after graduation.

A lot of people in privileged positions here may not appreciate the genuine financial hardship that jury service can cause. In a just society that should not happen. How are they supposed to concentrate on the details of a case if they are worrying and hoping all the evidence is presented quickly so they can return to work soon and start earning again?

Expected to suffer financial hardship to do your civic duty is the worst kind of state bullying

36 and a born and bred Scot and never been called. Neither has DH or my parents or siblings!

Ehh where I am temp nannies aren't a thing. Childminders are, however they are few and far between as they are leaving the profession in droves and there are huge waiting lists! They also do not take on random children for 'possibly 2 weeks'.

How do you have so many opportunities to carry out Jury Service. I would love to do it once in my life but never get chosen😂

I would be in the same boat OP. We have childcare for half a week only (while we are working). My parents or in-laws wouldn’t be able to help (elderly, health problems, can’t drive and live too far away). We have no one else - everyone we know works FT and/or have families or caring responsibilities themselves.

I hope you can appeal or defer.

It is not I who stipulate what constitutes as an emergency with my parents; they are adults in their own right with free will and not bound to my beck and call whenever I choose. If they decide it's not convenient or reasonable for them to travel a some hundreds of miles, they are not "legally bound" to do so.

Should I have to go, I will be taking my child with me whether I'm permitted to or not because, whilst they don't have to like it and we all know it'd be terribly awkward, none of that makes a blind bit of difference to my responsibilities to protect my child's welfare along with not bringing severe financial hardship upon my family, and thus additionally negatively impacting my husband's welfare. "Legally binding" doesn't trump family where I come from.