I do gapbuster work, how do I prove loss of earnings for jury service?

wannabemedic

Hi :cool:

I've recently signed up to Gapbuster to do mystery shopping work but I have jury service soon and wondered how I am supposed to prove 'loss of earnings', obviously I can't get a letter from an employer because I guess I'm classed as self-employed.

Having recently started it's kind of tricky to say how much I could be earning if I worked all day for two weeks that I'm being summoned for I did three assignments in the space of around 2hrs (including the reporting time) each worth £11. That's over £15 an hour!

They said something about needing an accountant report, but I don't have an accountant, how do I 'prove' what I state on the expenses sheet? I *think* they pay a max of £60 or £89 depending how long they keep you in court each day.

Hope someone out there has been in my situation, I'm currently between jobs so it's a little tricky! Thanks! :cool:

Chick

Hi there,

Not sure if I can fully answer your question but will try.
I've just completed jury service- the best thing for you to do would be to go to www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk where there is a whole load of infomation for jurors-to-be.

Normally, your employer completes a 'Certificate of Loss of earnings' but in your case it would be best to call the jury summoning bureau or even better the specific court office. I think the onus is on you to prove that you have lost earnings; the amount is not necessarily important as there is a set rate for 'loss of earnings'.

As far as I recall this rate depends on how many days you have served as a juror & also whether it is for full or half days. Briefly, in the first 10 days of jury service you get £29.19 per day for up to 4 hours at court, then £58.38 for more than 4 hours at court.
However, this is all dependent on you having to prove a loss of earnings as a direct result of jury service.

Re my own situation I was unable to claim anything re loss of earnings as I am a student, even though I have been doing short periods of work this summer- they were very clear that 'potential' earnings would not be taken into account which is fair enough but I was being turned down for temp jobs because of having to do jury service, which I otherwise would have taken on.

Hope this has been some help, I'm not v familiar with the self-employed situation re claiming losses.
Chick