Jury Service FAQ

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Jury Service FAQ

6th April 2018

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Does your employer have to give you time off for jury service?

If you’re up for jury service your employer must allow you time off for this. If they don’t, they could be in contempt of court.
If you’re an employee you have the right not to be treated unfairly (for example, not being considered for promotion) because of your call-up.
You need to get your employer to fill out a Certificate of Loss of Earnings to claim for loss of earnings. There are limits on the amount that you can claim.

Deferring or not attending jury service

You can ask for your jury service to be deferred. You can only do this once and for no more than 12 months from the original date.

Payment

Your employer does not have to pay you whilst you are on jury service. But you can claim for travel and food expenses and for loss of earnings from the court.
If you want to be excluded from jury service altogether you need to write to the Jury Central Summoning Bureau setting out your reasons why. However, unless you’ve already served as a juror within the previous two years, your call-up is likely to be deferred.
If you want to be excluded from jury service in Northern Ireland you need to contact the Jury Management Team.

How long does jury service last?

Jury service usually lasts for 10 days, but some trials take longer. Jurors are usually warned in advance if a trial is expected to last a long time.

Guidance for employees taking time off work can be found here.

Guidance for employers can be found here.