Financial hit of jury service

[Pheasantsfeather]

I've just been summoned for jury service. Checked the terms and conditions and our company will grant special leave to attend but you are unpaid. You can claim £64 per day back in expenses. My take home per day is three times that.

I am fully supportive of why I need to do it, but I can't believe I'm expected to take such a financial hit. If it were to go on for the full 10 days, I will be over £1000 out of pocket. I can't afford that, we have nursery and holiday club fees for 3x children and a mortgage to pay.

How can you be duty bound to do something that costs you so much in lost earnings?

Find a reason to refuse. I cited hip pain, u able to sit for long periods while waiting for hip replacement. Mostly true, esp the latter.
accepted without query

My husband was excused because we couldn’t afford for him to do it (I was on maternity leave and his work wouldn’t make up the difference). He hasn’t been asked since and that was 10 years ago.

Yes, I remember the Maxeell brothers trial, went on for months 😕

I’ve just been summoned also. I’m on gruelling cancer treatment and am now unwell with Heart failure from chemo! I’ve asked to be excused!

I agree with you. I think it's ridiculous that people are expected to lose considerable amounts of money for taking time off work,to do their duty! If the powers that be didn't want people to say they can't do it then maybe they should try offering them adequate compensation for their lost wages.

I agreed to do it back in April and then asked to be excused a few weeks before the start date and they accepted.
Didn't have to give dates that I could do in the future either. I think I got lucky.
I was all up for it at first then realised the massive impact it would have with my work, toddler & money, I just couldn't commit.

They make up earnings nett of income tax and N.I. contributions, so you'd reach the £129 cap at about £43k - £44k (assuming the standard personal allowance). But extra childcare expenses aren't paid on top; the cap is on loss of earnings plus extra childcare expenses. Even without having to fork out more for childcare, you'd still be £650 out of pocket for the 10 days £65 cap was applied.

I've been called 3 times, & cited childcare issues.
The real reason was the financial loss.
It was granted, no checks were made, & the last time DS was c.15.

To everyone saying employers should pay, why them and not the government? It could be crippling for a small business.

The usher on my case said the longest one she’d seen was just short of 3 years - summing up took over 3 months 🤯. The trial I was on was 10 days (sa of a child under 13) and that was plenty long enough for me even though I’d been really keen to do jury service. It was a really interesting experience though (and my employer paid the extra above the court allowance)

Or how about employers have to administrate opt-out insurance, rather like pensions?

Is that a thing?

I just used his email account.

Say you cannot afford it, you wouldn’t be able to pay your mortgage etc this is a valid excusal reason.

My dsis was summoned for jury duty . She read the letter but didn’t bother replying
She believed that if she replied she would have to think of a good excuse to avoid jury duty and she didn’t think that financial loss implications would be accepted

That’s not entirely true. I am none of those things, my employer paid my two weeks in full. Most of my jury were people who had interesting jobs. In fact two were retired and one had a living wage job. The case did over run slightly though and so I claimed loss of earnings for three days I believe.