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.

I got a refusal for childcare reasons about 10 years ago. I had a school aged child but it was the summer holidays and I'd booked leave to look after him. I was a single parent though (no contact with father).

Exactly! It’s so bizarre.
Whenever someone on here complains that the grandparents refuse to help with childcare they are told by numerous posters that it’s not not the grandparents’ responsibility.
Yet when something like this comes up, people are suddenly expected to have friends and neighbours on hand, willing and available to babysit for weeks?

I suppose on the basis that I had to take time off when my nanny did jury service, then the OP’s DH will also have to take annual leave. It’s a nuisance and I’m sure you’d rather have a holiday, but there it is. Of course, I’m sure you could probably get a deferral.

But what position has OP put herself in?
Granny's broken her leg/needs an operation for something urgent.
What can OP do?!
Even creche is not bulletproof. A creche here closed last year giving ONE WEEK notice!

I would contact them, but rather than asking to be excused, asked to defer - if granted they will ask you for 3 dates in the next 6 months when you could definitely do jury service, and you would absolutely have to attend for these - so be ready with 3 options when you contact them.
This may mean your DH taking annual leave, but at least he would have time to book it in.
I would also get a letter from your husbands working saying they are not permitting him to take AL on the dates of your jury service.
These 2 together worked for me when my childcare fell through for jury service

She didn’t change her mind though. She organised childcare and it fell through.

I never know why people use this argument as though the person receiving it gives a fuck? I got out of jury duty due to the nature my work, but I absolutely could not afford to have done it anyway.

Why would I give a flying fuck about 'the good of society' as a whole when society doesn't give AF about me and my personal circumstances?

Unless you pay my bills you can keep your commentary on how it's important for us all to take part in to yourselves 🙄

The issue with jury service and childcare is a huge problem - I feel like i could write a book about it. I had to defer three times when DD was under one year old, but they kept calling me every few months so eventually I did it and wasn't required thankfully. The clerk of the court will usually phone or be avaliable to speak to when jury service starts, sometimes they can be more sympathetic. Absolute BS that if you have no support partners are expected to take leave. I was told by one court official to ask my mother to take care of our child as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, the fact she'd been deceased a decade didn't phase his attitude at all. Appalling.

That doesn't apply because the husband isn't the one who has been called to do the jury service!

This totally!

I don’t know what she can do. Keep contacting them and trying to get excused. Or her dh will have to take leave. Or pay the fine.
Jury duty is one of those things in life. It’s an utter pita. It often seriously inconveniences people or puts them out of pocket but it’s very hard to get out of.
Maybe they do need to update how they do it now that it’s the norm for women with children to work. Otherwise, what are they supposed to do? If they start excusing people after they’re signed up because of childcare issues they’d have serious difficulties getting a jury together ever.
In the OPs case, they probably won’t accept the excuse that her childcare has fallen through because she has a husband and unless he has to have surgery or something they’ll expect him to look after dc. Even if he doesn’t get paid for it, they won’t care. Employers are compelled to give time off, that’s all they are concerned with. I’m not saying it’s fair, It’s crap but there is very little can be done about it. It’s part of living in a democratic society.
I take that back what I said about the op putting herself in this position. That wasn’t fair. But I’m surprised at the amount of people that don’t realise you can’t just contact them and say actually I can’t do jury duty after all and expect them to say oh ok then, that’s fine. The only person I know who has been excused outside of the usual accepted reasons was actually hit by a car on their way to court on the morning they were due at the court.

I agree with you.
I see PPs point, but surely people should be allowed to make sure their own family is looked after and their bills are paid before they’re expected to contribute to the greater good?

Is this the first time you have been called or have you deferred previously?

You shouldn’t have committed to it unless you had bulletproof childcare lined up.

What is bulletproof childcare?

A nursery is probably the closest, as it takes a lot for them to close. But with the pressure on nursery spaces you'd be very very hard pushed to find somewhere to take a child full time for a couple of weeks.

A close relative who is willing and able to do it and knows the child well is as close as you're realistically going to get to bulletproof.

It didn't cover anything when I did jury service last year - and the cafe has nothing I could eat (I have coeliac disease) - even the chips had wheat in them!

My case lasted for ten weeks - I think it played a significant role in why I was made redundant recently.

I'm still paying off the credit card bill I ran up paying for food, transport, and covering my lost wages. It really is a spectacularly shit system at the moment and needs to be overhauled.

Interesting comments here.
I am surprised they didn't accept your request to be excused.
I was called when the children were tiny and wrote tonsaynthat I would love to do it but regrettably only could if they could rwminburse for a temporary nanny. They wrote back and said no problem and deferred me. Almost 30 years ago and I have never been recalled.

A friend was due to do jury service and over the weekend her adult daughter (no children) was admitted to hospital she explained to the clerk on the first morning and was excused despite agreeing to do it.

Did you make it clear that your MIL would be unwell for the foreseeable future and provide details of the illness.

For those saying the dh must take a/l the statutory position in relation to a/l requests is that notice of a/l shoukd be double the length of the a/l. That would be respected by the court.

@bloodypublicservice are you sure you have explained the situation clearly?

On Monday yiu will have an MP again. Involve them and seek their support.

Employers are only compelled to give time off to the person serving on the jury.

There are plenty of jobs where people can't take time off at short notice, and if they do it can cause significant financial hardship, especially if the case runs for a long time. They don't all just magically last two weeks!

There's no reason why the court can't let the OP defer and use the other people called to fill the jury. I served last year and there must have been over 60 people called initially - more than enough.

Agree. There is no such thing as bullet proof childcare. There is always a risk of child being ill/ needing docs visit etc and nursery’s cannot take them in these circumstances.
As a parent (particularly a sole parent) you are never 100 per cent able to commit to anything with 100 per cent certainty.

Some people do not have family or friends to rely on for childcare or anything really , it’s very difficult for some people to understand that not everyone has a village . I’m sure the wheels of Justice will manage without OP. Jury duty should be optional . In a democracy you should have free will.

But she doesn't, so no comparison.

OP ring them up and talk to them. You can probably defer.

You’d need a backup I suppose. There’s always the chance a relative or even a nanny or child minder could get sick or something at the last minute. You’d need to have someone else lined up in case. I know a lot of people don’t have that, and that’s what I’m trying to say, if you think there’s a chance your childcare could fall through and that would mean you’ve nobody to mind dc, you should say you can’t arrange childcare and try to get excused from the beginning. They’re just not very understanding when people have kids, they expect you to sort it out and if you really can’t you have to be excused.

This has to be the largest proprtion of batshit replies I've ever read on MN (apart from the few normal, empathetic people that have popped up). I'm not a parent, nor have I been called for jury duty, but surely anyone with half a brain can see what an awful impossible predicament this is for OP, but also what a broken system we have. I beg/implore you to vote sensibly tomorrow (in case of any doubt, I mean NOT to vote for the Tory party).

There's no reason why the court can't let the OP defer and use the other people called to fill the jury.

@summeroccupation

And that’s what they should and probably will do but it would have saved a lot of hassle to not agree to do it in the first place if you are relying on one person to provide childcare because there’s always the chance that might fall through.

Seriously?! You think she can just drop her toddler with neighbours for two weeks?