Discussion
Having postponed it once, my number has come up for jury service, and I am dreading it in case I end up being put on a long case. I am in a consulting/freelance position, so any compensation they offer is b*ollocks in scale to the potential loss of business with clients if I am off for more than a week.
Has anyone been in a similar position and got any top tips on how best to handle this once you turn-up on your first day so you don't get landed on a long case?
I know why we have the jury system, but the way it is imposed, even on people ill-suited to do this for any period of time, really angers me.
Thx
Has anyone been in a similar position and got any top tips on how best to handle this once you turn-up on your first day so you don't get landed on a long case?
I know why we have the jury system, but the way it is imposed, even on people ill-suited to do this for any period of time, really angers me.
Thx
https://www.gov.uk/jury-service/what-you-can-claim...
What you can claim if you’re self-employed
You will not be paid for doing jury service, but you can claim some money back if your earnings are affected. For each day you’re at court, you can usually claim:
You can ask to delay your jury service if you cannot do jury service on the dates in your summons letter.
What you can claim
There’s a limit to how much you can claim for each day you’re at court.
Loss of earnings, childcare and other care costs
How much you can claim to cover loss of earnings and care costs depends on the length of your jury service and how many hours you spend at court each day.
For the first 10 days of jury service, you can claim up to:
What you can claim if you’re self-employed
You will not be paid for doing jury service, but you can claim some money back if your earnings are affected. For each day you’re at court, you can usually claim:
- up to £64.95 to help cover your loss of earnings and the cost of any care or childcare outside of your usual arrangements
- £5.71 for food and drink
- the cost of travel to and from court (via the cheapest method, and parking not included)
You can ask to delay your jury service if you cannot do jury service on the dates in your summons letter.
What you can claim
There’s a limit to how much you can claim for each day you’re at court.
Loss of earnings, childcare and other care costs
How much you can claim to cover loss of earnings and care costs depends on the length of your jury service and how many hours you spend at court each day.
For the first 10 days of jury service, you can claim up to:
- £64.95 a day if you spend more than 4 hours at court
- £32.47 a day if you spend 4 hours or less at court
- £129.91 a day if you spend more than 4 hours at court
- £64.95 a day if you spend 4 hours or less at court
Edited by mmm-five on Monday 17th July 15:43
mmm-five said:
You will not be paid for doing jury service, but you can claim some money back if your earnings are affected.
So if you're retired or unemployed, do you have to sit in a courtroom for 8 hours a day for x days for nothing? Travel expenses maybe?Interesting that the government isn't even paying minimum wage - but evidently legal.
Blue One said:
Having postponed it once, my number has come up for jury service, and I am dreading it in case I end up being put on a long case.
You won't be. Almost nobody is. Most trials are less than 7 days, and most of those are less than 1.I did two trials on my jury service, and each one was less than one day.
I did it years ago, I was there for the first full week and had 1 case, 3.5 days if I recall correctly. Second week I was stood down and returned to work. It was interesting Id admit but I was astonished with the amount or time wasted by our courts. I wouldn't want to do it again.
A friend of mine got called up, didn't have a single case and was stood down on day 2 or 3. It really is a roll of a dice on what you will get.
A friend of mine got called up, didn't have a single case and was stood down on day 2 or 3. It really is a roll of a dice on what you will get.
Mr_J said:
super7 said:
The court will ask you before putting you on a long case…. They are not completely insensitive….
This - exactly as a mate who is currently doing jury service described it.But the process of selection for the long trial was slightly different to normal. We were canvassed by letter a couple of weeks in advance of service starting. This letter said there was a long trial starting when we started service and included a form that gave us an opportunity to give reasons why we couldn’t do it. That’s couldn’t do the long trial NOT couldn’t do Jury Service. Stuff like medical appointments, holidays booked just after the standard ten days service period, carer responsibilities. The exact wording of the employment question was as follows (and their highlighting)…
“Do you have responsibilities in relation to your work that would make it impossible for you to serve as a juror for up to X weeks from (date)?
If so, please provide full details of (a) the nature of your employment or work and (b) why it would be impossible for you to be absent for the period this trial may last.
Please note that it will not be sufficient to state (for instance) that your employer cannot spare you for the period required. The fact that you have been summoned to perform an important public duty imposes a requirement on employers to allow their employees to do so.”
Whatever you put in here, you then need to present to the judge…
On day one of service, all who’d responded to say they were able to do a long trial were called forward. There were 60 of us. From that 60, 32 were chosen at random. The leftovers went back into the normal jury pool for standard ten days service. Later in the day, the 32 were called into court, and in front of the defendant, judge etc, 12 were chosen at random by the court clerk and sworn in.
So above the normal opportunity to try and be excused from service, there are opportunities to be excused from long trials specifically, and then you need to be lucky/unlucky to be selected anyway.
I found the experience really interesting. The trial was long enough to be interesting to be part of, but not too long that it became a real chore. The days weren’t long, but were intense, you really need to pay attention. Another aspect that surprised me was how quickly the whole jury fell into it being their job. For me it was the first time in twenty years I’d done something other than my normal career for a long period, and I found it a great break! If you can do it, I’d recommend it.
CheesecakeRunner said:
I found the experience really interesting. The trial was long enough to be interesting to be part of, but not too long that it became a real chore. The days weren’t long, but were intense, you really need to pay attention. Another aspect that surprised me was how quickly the whole jury fell into it being their job. For me it was the first time in twenty years I’d done something other than my normal career for a long period, and I found it a great break! If you can do it, I’d recommend it.
Good post. You might think though that intelligence, or ability to think in a straight line, might be a prerequisite. But then I suppose it wouldn't be representative of the population...Gassing Station | Business | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff