Called on for jury service

Dannydee333

swingaloo said:

I did it. Its no use complaining that it is a hinderance because its a legal obligation., if everyone said no then what would happen. Most people doing it would probably prefer to be elsewhere but people have to be chosen at random and they cant continually call the same people. 

You are usually called for 2 weeks but if its longer you get a higher rate for the extra days.
You do need your employer to give the court proof that you are not being paid. Its optional for an employer to pay you and you do need to prove your losses. If they dont pay you then you get compensated but nowhere near your actual wage.
If you can do your work later in the day then no, you are not paid for your time.

I quite enjoyed the 2nd week because we got an interesting case but the first week was nothing but waiting about to see if you are needed. If you are picked then you may find that you are asked to leave again because the defence dont want you so there is an awful lot of sitting about. Even if you are selected for a jury it can be incredibly boring because there is so much time given to the legal arguments that you have to sit through before the case actually starts. 

If not needed by lunchtime we were told we could leave for the day. You can claim around £65 a day for loss of earnings and its about £6 for food and drink, plus you get travel expenses but its not a fortune.

I only did 2 weeks but on the last day I was selected again but then knocked back by the defence which turned out to be a good thing because that trial ran for 7 weeks. If you get a long case like that then I think they make sure you are never called for jury service again.

Thankfully, my employer encourages us to do jury duty and pays us for up to a week, but after that, it's unpaid. I get £700 a week before deductions, so the idea of £65 per day bugs me quite a bit since that's less than half what I earn.

It's £4 return from my house to the city per day. Can I collect those up and get them reimbursed?

Dannydee333

TELLIT01 said:

Are you really going to be able to do a full day's work for your employer after potentially being in court all day for several days?

My job is really flexible and yes I could manage to do my work in the evenings squeezing it into a few hours.

Dannydee333

Emmia said:

The premise of a jury made up of your fellow citizens is a fundamental part of the justice system. That means that people need to be called upon to serve.

I've never been asked, but I see it quite differently to you, I would happily volunteer, but there's no route for that. I don't see it as a hindrance, it is a duty that comes because you're a citizen.

That's all well and good but I don't think too many people would be jumping for joy about losing over half your earnings, which is what would happen to me after the first week.

Dannydee333

El_Torro said:

In my experience doing jury service (I did it last year) there is a lot of waiting around. This could be an opportunity to take your laptop with you and catch up on work.

My case was a bit unusual because I spent a couple of days waiting to be put on a trial, then when I finally got on one the case was dismissed the day after. The jurors weren't told why. Then at the end of the week we were all told to not come back the following work because there was a fresh intake of jurors that coming Monday. 

I guess I got lucky. I think it would have been an interesting experience to get on one trial at least, though I don't think I would have fancied getting on a trial which lasted a couple of months.


In the case that you do get on a long trial I don't think it's realistic to expect to work full time as well, even if it's in the evenings. Do you know for sure that your employer won't pay you? Or are you making an assumption?

Oh I was under the impression that you might as well not bother taking even your phone with you as it would be taken off you. So you can take you phone and tablet, laptop etc if you want?

My employer would pay for the first week and after that it would be unpaid leave. I get £700 a week before deductions so the 65 quid doesn't even cover half that.

Dannydee333

HampshireH said:

If on a case and actively been listening for most the day for several days there is surely no way you could put 100% into them doing a full shift at work 

Active listening is tiring

Mt job is really flexible and I can do what I need to do in just a couple of hours.

Dannydee333

Flugelhorn said:

penners324 said:

Needs a change in the law. Employers should pay you and be able to reclaim from the government. 

Part of the problem may be that he works for a US company. Certainly many in the UK will pay people of they are on jury service, though probably only the larger companies and they would expect people to claim the daily allowance too

My employer pays for the first week, and after that would be unpaid, and that's what annoys me most. Not that my employer only pays the first week, but that you're expected to sacrifice earnings. If it were fully reimbursed, I'd have zero issues, but I have a mortgage and other essential outgoings to cover.

Dannydee333

XzavierWalnut said:

fatbelly said:

I've never been called for jury service but have always wanted to do it.

A friend of mine was called up for the first time in her life - in her 70s. She said she found it difficult because she had been retired 15 years and had got out of the Monday to Friday 9-5 habit.

Same here. I would love to be called up, especially for an interesting long running case.

Would you love losing out on your regular earnings too?

Dannydee333

DullGreyGuy said:

It's a civic duty, and you may one day be dependent on others doing their duty if you find yourself wrongly accused of something. It's a fundamental right in criminal law, other than a tiny number of crime, that your guilt is judged by a jury of your peers not by just the police or the Eton/Oxford educated judge etc. That right comes with the cost of having to be available to act as the jury for your peers.

Actually they do exempt a lot of people from being called. Doctors, dentists, MPs, etc. So essentially it's only the avergae joes who are judging you. Would it not be better to have a panel from all walks of life?

There is a lot of waiting around, a colleague took his laptop and worked whilst in the assembly room. You cannot bring electronic devices into the deliberation room though but lockers are provided... if you arent willing to leave it in the locker dont take it.

I will decide later if I will take any electronic devices with me. Most likely my tablet with my books on it.

Cases can be interesting or boring. Days long and tiring or very short. The one I served on the case itself was fairly straightforward and few of the facts were in contention but it was interesting in the deliberation room how others had heard exactly what I had but come to a different conclusion. This is exactly the point of the jury, so people of different walks of life and experiences are the ones to judge your guilt. We returned a guilty judgement.

Again, not all walks of life are called from what I can see on the summons—just us mere commoners.

If I got reimbursed for everything then I'd actually be excited but the fact I will potentially lose over half my income for days outside the first week (which my employer will cover) isn't a very appealing prospect and as such, I'm less likely to give you my all as an act of silent protest.

What happens on the day? They choose you from more than 12 people, right? Could you potentially get out of it by being disengaged or acting dumb, and then they won't select you?

Dannydee333

This has got to be a wind up.   Are you actually serious?

A (criminal) court is where trials are heard and a jury is selected in order to decide if a defendant is guilty or not guilty.

It's a fairly unique and interesting idea that you have, that law-abiding citizens should be exempt. It's probably not the best idea that criminal trials are decided by a criminal-jury, but, hey, it's an idea!!!

As has been mentioned, in the UK, you don't volunteer for jury duty.   It's done by random selection.   Did you seriously not know that?    Hopefully, your employer can pay you whilst you undertake your civic duty.  If not, I believe that the court will pay up to a certain amount.

Yes I'm serious. I dislike the idea that you will be "fined" if you don't do what they tell you to. Also, I'm not excited by the idea of losing over half my earnings for days my employer doesn't pay me (they pay the first week). Excuse me for not jumping for joy about not only being summoned to do something I'd rather not, but losing my income in the process. I have a mortage and other outgoings. What happens if it comes to a point where the 65 quid a day fails to cover all your bills and you would potentially get in trouble for that? Could you get out of it on those grounds?

You may want to seek advice from a trusted friend or family member, because you seem a little overwhelmed.    I believe that you can also contact the court to discuss any concerns that you have. 

I hope that it all goes well

Again, I'd be ok with it if I weren't facing the possibility of losing half my income for days served outside the first week.

sheramber

Dannydee333 said:

DullGreyGuy said:

It's a civic duty, and you may one day be dependent on others doing their duty if you find yourself wrongly accused of something. It's a fundamental right in criminal law, other than a tiny number of crime, that your guilt is judged by a jury of your peers not by just the police or the Eton/Oxford educated judge etc. That right comes with the cost of having to be available to act as the jury for your peers.

Actually they do exempt a lot of people from being called. Doctors, dentists, MPs, etc. So essentially it's only the avergae joes who are judging you. Would it not be better to have a panel from all walks of life?

There is a lot of waiting around, a colleague took his laptop and worked whilst in the assembly room. You cannot bring electronic devices into the deliberation room though but lockers are provided... if you arent willing to leave it in the locker dont take it.

I will decide later if I will take any electronic devices with me. Most likely my tablet with my books on it.

Cases can be interesting or boring. Days long and tiring or very short. The one I served on the case itself was fairly straightforward and few of the facts were in contention but it was interesting in the deliberation room how others had heard exactly what I had but come to a different conclusion. This is exactly the point of the jury, so people of different walks of life and experiences are the ones to judge your guilt. We returned a guilty judgement.

Again, not all walks of life are called from what I can see on the summons—just us mere commoners.

If I got reimbursed for everything then I'd actually be excited but the fact I will potentially lose over half my income for days outside the first week (which my employer will cover) isn't a very appealing prospect and as such, I'm less likely to give you my all as an act of silent protest.

What happens on the day? They choose you from more than 12 people, right? Could you potentially get out of it by being disengaged or acting dumb, and then they won't select you?

When my husband went through jury selection the defence lawyer didn’t even look at the jurors. 

As each one was put up he kept looking at his files and randomly said yay or nay. 

Mind you, that way no one could accuse him of bias. 

My husband was due to run a sales meeting with a potential customer abroad when he was called.
His firm had to postpone the meeting  until he was released from service.

In those days you had to attend every day and wait to see if you were needed.

Recently, my son had to phone the night before to be told if he needed to attend. He was not needed for the whole week he was called to be available so was able to go to work the next day as normal.