Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Jury service expenses are ridiculous

265 replies

Dinosaurus86 · 29/12/2025 18:25

Posting here partly for traffic, partly because it is ridiculous and wondering if anyone has experience.

Have just been called for jury service. I am PT self employed. Have a one year old not in any formal childcare. I also have a just turned four year old who is in nursery for two full days and one further short one / week. The wording of my letter seems to suggest that you can get a maximum amount of £64/ day to cover both loss of earnings and additional childcare costs. Does anyone know if this is correct? Because it is less than even the full day rate for nursery before I even take any loss of earnings into account - and that is just for one child - no idea what I’d do about the younger one. We have some family but not enough to cover full time, and she isn’t used to being away from me. Not sure if I should attempt to defer or if will just have the same problems in a few months… help!!!

OP posts:
JLbaby · 29/12/2025 20:36

I deferred once but they called me again a few years later and wouldn’t let me defer again even though I had no childcare (they just told me to find childcare!), so be aware of that. I ended up losing a lot of money as the ‘expenses’ they pay are shocking, nowhere near covered my expenses. I then spent 5 days sitting in a room looking at a wall as I didn’t get called to be on a jury anyway, such a waste of time! They let me go after the first week thankfully as the second week there was an 8 week trial starting and I had already told them I couldn’t stay longer than the 2 weeks.

shuggles · 29/12/2025 20:37

@ContentedAlpaca We need to keep juries though

No, we don't.

Guilt cannot be determined by a popular vote from 12 people who, in all probability, have no experience or expertise in critical thinking, scientific evidence, or the legal system.

Juries are one of those weird things that no one ever seems to question.

DierdreDaphne · 29/12/2025 20:37

...not been called since but feat I may now have broken the charm. Please wait till I've retired!

Sisterlove · 29/12/2025 20:39

Dinosaurus86 · 29/12/2025 18:36

Yes I guess I’ll ask to defer. The funny thing is that I would quite like to do it! But they don’t exactly make it easy. I do still feed 1yo before her nap and to sleep - I wasn’t sure if I should mention it as she’s not exactly a tiny baby.

I'm self employed and jury service expenses wouldn't pay enough, so I'd decline on that basis.

I've done it before as an employee and I was paid my salary, but I couldn't afford to do it now.

Timbrelltime · 29/12/2025 20:39

Netcurtainnelly · 29/12/2025 19:13

Be careful what you wish for.

You might be sitting through horrendous details and look at pictures and hear 999 evidence.

It might be so bad, your excused jury service altogether. You've got to live with it though.

Why would you wish that on yourself.
There's no way on earth I want to.listen to gruesome and vile things in a courtroom. Hardly fun is it?

Show quote history

Second these comments. I served on a jury hearing evidence in a paedophile case.
So dreadful - unanimously guilty decisions on 20+ charges. Difficult discussions had to be had yet afterwards we had a quick 5 minutes in the jury room before leaving , no follow ups etc.
Cost me a hell of a lot more than lost income.

cabtu · 29/12/2025 20:40

shuggles · 29/12/2025 20:37

@ContentedAlpaca We need to keep juries though

No, we don't.

Guilt cannot be determined by a popular vote from 12 people who, in all probability, have no experience or expertise in critical thinking, scientific evidence, or the legal system.

Juries are one of those weird things that no one ever seems to question.

Edited

What do you suggest??

rainbowsandraspberrygin · 29/12/2025 20:40

RandomUsernameHere · 29/12/2025 18:57

That’s ridiculous. I don’t really see how self employed people can be expected to do it for that amount of compensation.

Or anyone? Why SE more likely to be out of pocket? It’s a genuine question - not being snarky as I’ve been SE too

Marble10 · 29/12/2025 20:41

We recently had a nightmare getting my grandmother out of it 🤦‍♀️ she was awaiting her dementia assessment at the time! What good would she have been on jury honestly!?

Gonners · 29/12/2025 20:42

I was only called for jury service once, many years ago. I was happy to do it (no kids and an employer who paid me), but said they might want to know that I worked for a firm of solicitors. No problem! It was 80% tedium, sitting around waiting to be called and (if you weren't) not being sent home until 4pm. I ended up on 3 cases.

The bizarre stories that witnesses for the defence produced were a joy, though, and their barristers were fools. One witness claimed that her son was driving around late at night with a heavy wooden cudgel under the passenger seat because he was "bringing it home from work for his little brother and sister to use to roll out their plasticine". At this point the defence barrister happened to look in my direction, I mouthed "How old are they?" and he established that they were 16 and 17. And a minicab driver who had been robbed was "obviously" lying because he was South Asian. The discussions in the jury room about that one were eye-opening.

I'll be 75 next summer and exempt, which is a bit silly as I now have the time and the still-functioning brain to do it.

Ithinkofawittyusernamethenforgetit · 29/12/2025 20:45

Famua · 29/12/2025 20:19

It is odd who is called. My partner and I, mid 50s, have never been called. Not have our siblings or their partners. If we were called,we both cross our fingers it would be me rather than him as my employer will pay but will ask you to request withdrawal from long cases; not sure how that even works?! My partner is self employed. I’m unclear on how he could
claim anything as sometimes he has contracts, sometimes not… if the call came
at the wrong time it would be hugely costly both short and long term.

If you get selected for a long trial, everyone goes into court including those on trial. You are all sworn in (15 of us). You are then asked if there is a reason you can’t sit on the long trial. Those who say yes (me!) have to approach the judge one at a time and say the reason. Mine was very personal to do with a family member so all in court knew my business. The judge did excuse three (they still did jury service but other short cases). I was not excused, it was agreed court would not sit for one day only (something that was going to take three days). Later in the 7.5 week trial, one of the defendants broke his tooth and court didn’t sit for about four days as he was in “agony” 🙄

shuggles · 29/12/2025 20:46

@cabtu What do you suggest??

I would suggest that guilt is evaluated specifically by people who are trained to do so.

If you're unwell, you don't go to 12 random people and ask them to vote on what your diagnosis is. You ask a healthcare professional.

EyeLevelStick · 29/12/2025 20:47

cabtu · 29/12/2025 20:40

What do you suggest??

Show quote history

Professional juries.

Abd80 · 29/12/2025 20:47

I was called when I was still breastfeeding my 18month old. I wrote to them and phoned them to say I couldn’t attend as breastfeeding and no childcare. They said no problem !

scalt · 29/12/2025 20:50

I can just see Farage saying “I have the perfect solution to this problem: nobody need be out of pocket again.”

Yep, you guessed it - he would abolish juries in a heartbeat.

merryandbrightdelight · 29/12/2025 20:50

DH was called for the second time last year and he was fuming at how ridiculous the costs are too

Zov · 29/12/2025 20:53

shuggles · 29/12/2025 20:37

@ContentedAlpaca We need to keep juries though

No, we don't.

Guilt cannot be determined by a popular vote from 12 people who, in all probability, have no experience or expertise in critical thinking, scientific evidence, or the legal system.

Juries are one of those weird things that no one ever seems to question.

Edited

I know right. I think Juries are batshit, and a terrible idea, and they need consigning to the history books. Bloody awful that 12 randoms off the street - who can be as thick a whale sperm - and/or have no idea what that person has been through/what kind of life they've had, (and have nothing in common with them) can decide on the fate of a person's entire life.

You will get sexist women who hate men, sexist men who hate women, people who hate people of colour, people who hate people who are gay, people who hate people who are working class, (or badly educated, or a bit common,) people who hate people who are a bit posh etc.... Some people in the dock may come across as arrogant and rude, even if they are innocent, and the jury will be swayed and say they're guilty because they don't like them.

Fucking glad I have never been in trouble with the law and had to face a jury!

DH thinks they're a good idea, as you get judged by a group of your peers - with no prejudice. Utter bollocks he speaks. None of them will be 'my peers,' and there absolutely WILL be prejudice. This is one thing him and me will never agree on.

BashfulClam · 29/12/2025 20:58

My colleague cares for her terminally ill partner with diabetes. She was panicking about Jury Dury so I told her to phone and ask to be excused. She was so thankful as she didn’t realise she could do that. She has been excused.

tsmainsqueeze · 29/12/2025 21:00

Saz12 · 29/12/2025 18:40

@tsmainsqueeze, I dont think you'd get off so easily now, unfortunately.

Well , i managed to get my husband excused 3 years ago .
If you word things 'correctly' you can do it.

Allisnotlost1 · 29/12/2025 21:03

Mapletree1985 · 29/12/2025 20:22

People with children under a certain age should be excused from jury duty, as they may draw a lengthy trial which may even involved being sequestered.

Show quote history

Juries don’t really get sequestered I don’t think. Appropriate compensation incl for childcare should be provided but I don’t believe having young children should exempt a person from service.

JudgeJ · 29/12/2025 21:05

Bjorkdidit · 29/12/2025 18:45

You really don't. The whole process is a shambles. As well as the woefully inadequate expenses for childcare, travel and loss of earnings, they'll keep you waiting around for hours, if not days with no information and you're just expected to put up with it.

Plus most of the population are too stupid to follow the instructions of the judge about basing a decision only on evidence presented and not what they found by googling or 'how you could tell they did it by looking at them'.

Show quote history

I did jury service for the first time a couple of years ago, a month before my 76th birthday which is the cut off date, it was a historical sexual abuse case and from the minute we were told on day one what the trial would be about, he was guilty in the eyes of many of my fellow jurors. I still don't think he got a fair trial but I don't know what the solution is, people will always include their personal opinions and prejudices in their decisions.

SassyPearlEagle · 29/12/2025 21:07

I wouldn't be able to afford it, either. Needs modernising.

Something else worries me more, though. Do you get a say in which cases you're assigned to? For example, it's a trial about noncery but you were a victim of that once, and really don't want to be exposed to it again. Are you able to decline? If not, fuck that.

JudgeJ · 29/12/2025 21:07

Allisnotlost1 · 29/12/2025 21:03

Juries don’t really get sequestered I don’t think. Appropriate compensation incl for childcare should be provided but I don’t believe having young children should exempt a person from service.

Show quote history

If we go down that route then juries will not be representative of the population. How do other countries deal with jury service?

PyongyangKipperbang · 29/12/2025 21:09

SassyPearlEagle · 29/12/2025 21:07

I wouldn't be able to afford it, either. Needs modernising.

Something else worries me more, though. Do you get a say in which cases you're assigned to? For example, it's a trial about noncery but you were a victim of that once, and really don't want to be exposed to it again. Are you able to decline? If not, fuck that.

You can ask to be excused due to past trauma leading you to be unable to be impartial.

Jappled · 29/12/2025 21:13

I don't understand the comments about if you defer, you can't defer again. How does that work in practice? If you were called for a two week period and were due to give birth in that time for example it would be no good just saying you can't defer again. Surely that sort of thing happens fairly regularly?

Fgfgfg · 29/12/2025 21:16

Peridoteage · 29/12/2025 20:03

I don't understand what you are saying?

If it falls in half term, when he doesn't attend nursery, you'd presumably also not be earning during 9-5 (because you'd be looking after two children).

Its not necessary to compensate both. If you'd usually be working, its compensating you for loss of income, from which you pay your childcare as usual. If you wouldn't be working but thus have additional childcare expenses due to doing jury duty rather than caring for a child, it compensates those.

For employed people the £69 isn't taxable, so its equivalent to more like £100 pre tax, which is about minimum wage for a normal 8 hour working day.

It does seem a bit unreasonable that the £69 is taxable as business income if you are self employed.

Show quote history

If you make it onto a jury the hours are only 10 - 4. The first day or two you have to be there at 9 but if you don't get chosen they let you go early. If you haven't been picked for a jury by Wednesday they often send you home for the rest of the week.