Jury Service: Employee Rights and Employer Obligations

Jury service means sitting on a jury to hear a court case. If you are summoned, you must attend unless the court agrees otherwise. For workers, the catch is pay: employees must be given time off, but there is no automatic right to keep your wages. Court allowances may leave you short.

Do you get paid for jury service in the UK?

There is no statutory duty for your employer to pay wages during jury service. If your pay stops or falls, you can claim eligible lost earnings from the court, but the allowance is capped. A right to time off is not a right to paid leave.

Does your company have to pay you for jury duty?

Only if your contract or policy gives you that entitlement. Otherwise, your employer may pay full salary, top up the court allowance or pay nothing. Check the jury-service policy and ask in writing: will my normal pay continue, what happens if the trial runs longer, and how will any court allowance affect my wages? If pay will stop, ask your employer to complete the court’s loss-of-earnings form before your first day.

A low-paid worker can do everything right and still lose money. The allowance is capped: the juror carries the shortfall, not the employer or the justice system.

Jury duty pay: loss of earnings and expenses

These are the England and Wales rates as at 1 October 2026. Loss of earnings and extra care costs share the daily cap. It is not a flat payment for attending court.

Driving another juror adds 4.2p a mile for the first passenger and 3.2p for each additional passenger. Check with the court about parking. Accommodation and travel outside England and Wales are not claimable under the usual scheme. If you receive Universal Credit or other financial support, tell your work coach or benefit office about the summons. GOV.UK says support continues for the first eight weeks and explains what form the court provides after that.

How to claim jury service expenses and lost pay

Claim at the end of service, no later than 12 months after it began. The court gives you a claim form at the start; send it back with relevant receipts. If your employer will not pay you, ask them to complete the loss-of-earnings form and bring it to court on day one. Before your first court day, put the form, travel receipts and any extra-care receipts together. Ask jury staff about payments during a long trial or financial hardship. Do not confuse the online summons reply with the expenses claim.

Can you refuse jury service or get out of jury duty?

You cannot simply refuse a jury summons because the dates are difficult or your manager says no. In England and Wales, reply within seven days. Ask the court to defer service if you need another date, or to excuse you if you cannot serve. Only the court can agree; a request or employer letter is not permission to stay away.

Reasons to defer jury service or ask to be excused

1. Reply within seven days. Confirm you can attend or explain why the date is a problem; a disqualified person must still reply. The court, not the employer, controls the summons.
2. Ask to move the date if necessary. GOV.UK says you can ask to change it once, to another date within the next 12 months. Give detailed reasons and suggest three dates. An operation, exam, pre-booked holiday or new baby may be a good reason; approval is not automatic.
3. Use an employer letter as evidence. If absence would seriously harm the business, your employer can explain why in writing and ask you to seek a delay. You, not the employer, apply to the court. A manager’s refusal to release you is itself listed by GOV.UK as a possible reason to seek a date change; it does not cancel the summons.
4. Seek excusal only where a new date will not work. Exceptional grounds include serious illness or disability, full-time caring or being unable to serve within the next year as a new parent. You can also ask if you served within the previous two years. You can appeal a refused request to the Jury Central Summoning Bureau.

If losing pay would leave you unable to manage, explain the financial hardship to the court and ask what evidence it needs. That is a reason to apply, not an automatic exemption.

Do I have to do jury duty if the summons is wrong?

Reply even if you think you are ineligible. England and Wales select names at random from the electoral register. To be eligible you must be 18-75 when service starts, registered to vote, and have lived in the UK, Channel Islands or Isle of Man for five years without a gap since age 13. Certain convictions, bail and other legal restrictions disqualify people. Tell the court about any mistake rather than ignoring the summons.

Failing to attend without reasonable cause, being unavailable when called or arriving unfit through drink or drugs can mean a fine of up to £1,000 in England and Wales under section 20 of the Juries Act 1974. The seven-day reply instruction and the non-attendance offence are not the same thing. If you cannot attend, contact the court rather than staying away.

How long does jury service last?

In England and Wales, jury service usually lasts up to ten working days. That is not a measured average or a guaranteed finish date. A trial can run longer, and you may hear more than one case during your service. Tell your manager promptly if jury staff give you a revised estimate.

There is no single UK duration. Scottish service depends on the trial. In Northern Ireland, jurors are generally called to a panel for about four weeks.

What to expect on jury service: your first day

If your employer is not paying you, bring the completed loss-of-earnings form on day one. Keep travel and extra-care receipts for your claim; the court gives you an expenses form at the start. Jury staff will flag longer trials. If a long trial would leave you struggling to pay bills, speak to them promptly about hardship and payments during service.

Can your employer refuse jury service or sack you for going?

In England and Wales, GOV.UK tells employers to allow an employee time off when called for jury service. Scotland and Northern Ireland also require employees to be released. Send your manager a copy of the summons as soon as it arrives. A rota shortage does not give a manager power to cancel it. Whether you stock shelves, serve tables, clean wards, deliver parcels or care for patients, the court decides any request to defer. Your employer can ask you to seek one if your absence would seriously harm the business.

For employees in Great Britain, section 98B of the Employment Rights Act 1996 makes dismissal automatically unfair if the reason, or principal reason, is the summons or attendance. It has applied since 6 April 2005, covers Scottish summonses too, and needs no qualifying service. A dismissal after your first week of work can be covered. Northern Ireland has a corresponding rule in Article 130B of its Employment Rights Order.

The GB employer has a defence only if it proves every part of the statutory test:

1. Substantial injury. The absence was likely to cause substantial injury to its undertaking, not simply an awkward rota.
2. Notice of the problem. It brought those circumstances to your attention.
3. No application to the court. You refused or failed to ask the appropriate officer for excusal or deferral.
4. Unreasonable refusal. Your failure to apply was not reasonable in the circumstances.

Failing to request a deferral is not enough on its own to establish the employer’s defence. A tribunal decides whether the business harm and your response meet the test.

Jury service and your employer: what to agree before court

Send your manager the summons, keep a copy and ask for written confirmation of your pay arrangements. Agree how you will report changes to the trial timetable. If wages will stop, ask for the completed loss-of-earnings form in time to take it to court on your first day. Covering the rota is the employer’s job; a staffing shortage does not cancel your summons.

Do you have to return to work if court finishes early?

Agree part-day arrangements with your manager around the court schedule before service starts. Official guidance does not say that everyone released before lunchtime must return for a shift. Do not assume either that you must work or that every early finish means the rest of the day off.

Jury duty if you are self-employed, agency or on zero hours

Jury service pay for self-employed people

If you are genuinely self-employed, you have no employer to provide leave or protect a job, but the England and Wales court caps are the same. You can claim proven lost earnings up to £64.95 a day for the first ten days at court for more than four hours, rising to £129.91 from day 11. Use the self-employed loss-of-earnings form and evidence such as a recent tax return. Court attendance is still compulsory unless the court grants a deferral or excusal.

Agency and zero-hours work: check your employment status

For agency and casual work, check your contract and how you work in practice before deciding what employment protections apply. Keep evidence of shifts and pay you would have received: a zero-hours label does not, by itself, rule out a loss-of-earnings claim.

Jury service pay and rules in Scotland and Northern Ireland

The dismissal protection in section 98B applies in England, Wales and Scotland; jury administration and expenses do not follow a single UK tariff. Northern Ireland has its own employment legislation, including an express right not to suffer detriment for jury service. Use the rules for the court that summoned you, not the court nearest your employer.

The Scottish higher earnings band starts earlier, but pays only for actual loss. If a 15-day juror loses at least £129.91 on each full day, the maximum earnings claim is £1,299.05 in England and Wales, against £1,623.85 in Scotland. The Scottish total is five days at £64.95 and ten at £129.91. Scottish car mileage at 47.1p requires the clerk’s approval of essential use. The standard rate does not give you an automatic entitlement to drive instead of taking public transport. Check mygov.scot and nidirect for the process that applies to you.

What to do if your employer refuses time off or cuts your shifts

Keep the summons, emails about cover, any change to your shifts and payslips. Explain the problem in writing to your employer. If you are refused time off in Great Britain, GOV.UK says you can complain to an employment tribunal; if dismissed, seek advice about unfair dismissal. A grievance does not stop the tribunal clock. Ask your union for help if you belong to one: Unite for hospitality, UNISON for care or health, USDAW for retail, GMB for warehouse or cleaning work, or IWGB for delivery work.

For unfair dismissals with an effective date of termination on or after 1 October 2026, the usual Great Britain limit is six months minus one day. If the dismissal was earlier, the old three-month limit still applies; the change does not reopen an expired claim. Other claims have their own starting dates, and Scottish tribunal breach-of-contract claims remain on the old limit until 9 November 2026. Get advice on the deadline for your claim.

Notify Acas within the applicable limit before presenting a Great Britain tribunal claim. Early conciliation can pause time if you notify in time. Northern Ireland has a separate system: seek help from its Labour Relations Agency. Citizens Advice and local law centres can also help. Do not wait for a grievance response before checking the deadline.

Jury service pay and work: common questions

Is jury duty paid if my employer stops my salary?

You can claim eligible lost earnings from the court, but only up to its daily cap. It is not a replacement salary. In England and Wales, the first ten days have a combined lost-earnings and extra-care cap of £64.95 for more than four hours at court, or £32.47 for up to four hours. Keep evidence of the pay you lose.

Can my manager make me defer jury service?

They can ask you to seek a delay if your absence would seriously harm the business and give you a letter to support your request. Only you can ask the court, and only the court can approve it. Until then, follow your summons.

Do I get £64.95 just for attending court?

No. The England and Wales allowance covers proven eligible loss and extra care costs up to the cap; it is not an attendance fee. If your employer keeps paying your full wages, those wages have not been lost. Ask how any employer top-up affects your court claim. Food and travel have separate rules.

What if I cannot afford a long trial?

Tell jury staff promptly. In England and Wales the higher lost-earnings cap starts on day 11, and the court may be able to pay expenses during a long trial or where you face financial hardship. Keep receipts and explain any cash-flow difficulty early. If you cannot afford to serve at all, ask the court about deferral or excusal rather than staying away.

Can I be sacked for jury service after only a week in the job?

If you are an employee dismissed principally because you were summoned or attended, you have day-one automatic unfair dismissal protection in Great Britain. Northern Ireland has a parallel rule. The employer has the narrow statutory defence explained above. Ask for advice promptly if threatened.

Does Universal Credit continue during jury service?

If you receive Universal Credit or other financial support, tell your work coach or benefit office about the summons. The court explains what form it provides after that.

Sources

1. Employment Rights Act 1996, section 98B, legislation.gov.uk
2. Employment Relations (Northern Ireland) Order 2004, Article 20, legislation.gov.uk
3. Juries Act 1974, section 20, legislation.gov.uk
4. Giving staff time off for jury service, GOV.UK
5. Jury service: summons, eligibility and changing dates, GOV.UK
6. Juror allowances for employees, GOV.UK
7. How to claim juror expenses, GOV.UK
8. Juror expenses, Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service
9. Scottish juror eligibility and excusal, Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service
10. Time off for jury service, nidirect
11. Claiming juror allowances, nidirect
12. Employment tribunal time limits, Acas
13. Employment Rights Act implementation timetable, GOV.UK
14. Jury duty leave: workers lose £260 on average, This is Money, reporting Churchill Home Insurance research
15. Employment tribunal backlog and waiting times, BBC News, 21 May 2026
16. Tribunal time limits: transitional provisions, legislation.gov.uk
17. Scottish tribunal breach-of-contract time-limit amendment, legislation.gov.uk