Time off for public duties: rights, roles and pay
You can have a right to leave your shift without a right to keep your wages. We explain which public roles qualify, what you can claim and how to challenge a refusal.
Being a school governor or councillor should not be reserved for people who can afford to lose a shift. Eligible employees have a right to reasonable time off for listed public duties, but no automatic right to pay. Check both before you agree to serve.
- Unpaid
- no statutory employer pay for listed public duties
- Varies
- no fixed annual allowance of days off
- £64.95
- England/Wales jury cap, first ten days over four hours
- Day one
- eligible employees need no minimum service
Which roles qualify
In England, Wales and Scotland, section 50 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 gives eligible employees time off for specific offices and bodies. It is not a general right to volunteering leave. Northern Ireland has its own list under Article 78, explained below.
| Role or body | What qualifies |
|---|---|
| Magistrate, also called a justice of the peace | Duties of the office |
| Scottish independent prison monitor | Duties of the office |
| Local authority | Councillors, including parish councillors; also the City of London Common Council, National Park authorities and the Broads Authority |
| Statutory tribunal | Membership, for example of an employment tribunal |
| Prison independent monitoring board | Membership of a board in England or Wales |
| Lay observer panel or immigration detention visiting committee | The panels and committees specified in section 50, including short-term holding facility visiting committees |
| Listed health body | NHS England, integrated care boards, NHS trusts and foundation trusts, NICE, the Health Services Safety Investigations Body, listed Special Health Authorities, Welsh Local Health Boards and Scottish Health Boards |
| Listed education body | Governors of local-authority-maintained establishments; members of further education, sixth form college and higher education corporations; Scottish parent councils, further education college boards and designated-institution governing bodies; the General Teaching Council for Wales, now the Education Workforce Council |
| Environment Agency, Scottish Environment Protection Agency or Scottish Water | Membership of the body, not simply employment there |
For members of listed bodies, the right covers meetings of the body and its committees, and other approved business. It also covers the specified executive business of local authorities. Holding a public-sector job does not itself qualify you. Neither does being a parent volunteer at a school.
Some obsolete education bodies still appear in the statutory wording. If your appointment is unusual, ask the appointing body to identify the provision that covers it. Scottish prison visiting committees are no longer the relevant route; independent prison monitors are covered instead.
Ordinary charity volunteering is outside section 50. Check for agreed leave; see time off to volunteer.
How much time is reasonable
There is no statutory annual allowance of days. The amount, timing and conditions must be reasonable, taking account of the time the duties require, leave already allowed for public duties or trade union duties and activities, and the effect on the business.
For example, a care worker requesting an afternoon for a council meeting should explain the time and part of the shift affected. A warehouse employee seeking repeated full days should explain why that much time is needed. Staffing and cover matter, but “we don’t allow public duties leave” is not the legal test.
Working hours means time when your contract requires you to be at work. An evening meeting can qualify if it clashes with your shift. A meeting on your day off does not create a right to paid leave or a replacement rest day under section 50.
Give notice, attach the meeting details and request the hours you need. Suggesting a swap can help. The statutory right does not depend simply on doing the manager a favour or finding your own replacement.
Pay: the hard truth
There is no statutory employer pay for section 50 leave. Your contract, a binding policy or a collective agreement may give you more. Ask payroll before the absence, not after the payslip arrives.
Public-body allowances are separate. Councillors’ allowances depend on the council scheme. The magistrates recruitment service lists financial loss allowance of up to £134.96 a day, subject to conditions and evidence. Ask the court what you can claim; the maximum is not an automatic payment.
Jury allowances are capped, not a replacement salary
If your employer does not pay you during jury service, you can claim eligible loss of earnings from the court. The cap is not a flat daily fee. If your loss is below it, you cannot claim the unused balance. In England and Wales, loss of earnings and extra care or childcare costs share the following daily limit. Scottish rules use net earnings for employed jurors and have different thresholds.
| Jurisdiction | Attendance and stage | Daily maximum |
|---|---|---|
| England, Wales and Northern Ireland | First 10 days, 4 hours or less | £32.47 |
| England, Wales and Northern Ireland | First 10 days, over 4 hours | £64.95 |
| England, Wales and Northern Ireland | From day 11, 4 hours or less | £64.95 |
| England, Wales and Northern Ireland | From day 11, over 4 hours | £129.91 |
| Scotland | 4 hours or less at court | £32.47 |
| Scotland | Days 1 to 5, over 4 hours | £64.95 |
| Scotland | Days 6 to 100, whole-day rate | £129.91 |
| Scotland | After day 100, whole-day rate | £230 |
In England and Wales, food and drink allowances are £5.71 for up to 10 hours at court or £12.17 for longer attendance. Travel is separate; eligible public transport fares or car mileage at 31.4p a mile can be claimed. Check the court’s conditions before driving or paying for parking. In Northern Ireland, submit your juror allowance claim within 14 days of service ending.
Ask your employer to complete the loss-of-earnings certificate. If it continues paying you, check the arrangement for recovering any court allowance before claiming. Do not assume you can keep both full wages and reimbursement for the same earnings loss. Challenge deductions that have no lawful basis.
Example: Aisha’s jury claim
In this illustrative example, Aisha works on a supermarket checkout. Her employer confirms an earnings loss of £80 per working day missed. She attends court in England for over 4 hours on each of 10 days, with no employer pay or extra care costs. She loses 10 x £80 = £800. The maximum earnings claim is 10 x £64.95 = £649.50, leaving £150.50 unreimbursed. Food and travel claims are separate.
For another 5 full days, the cap rises to £129.91, but her loss remains £80 a day. She claims £400, not £649.55. Across 15 days, reimbursement is £1,049.50 against £1,200 lost. The £150.50 gap remains.
If you receive benefits, show the summons to your benefit office or work coach. GOV.UK says support continues for the first 8 weeks; after that, the court supplies a loss-of-earnings form for the benefit office. Do not assume benefits will make you whole.
Jury service: stronger rules than other duties
A jury summons is compulsory. Your employer must release you; you do not need to spend your holiday entitlement to attend. Show the summons to your manager promptly. Our jury service guide explains the separate court process.
For employees in Great Britain, section 43M protects against detriment because of a summons or attendance, such as warnings, demotion or lost shifts. Unpaid jury absence is not itself a detriment unless your contract entitles you to pay.
Under section 98B, jury-related dismissal is normally automatically unfair, without a minimum service requirement. The narrow exception requires the employer to show likely substantial injury to its business, that it warned you, and that you unreasonably failed to seek deferral or excusal.
The employer can ask you to seek a delay. The court decides, not your manager. If your job is threatened, send the correspondence to the court and get employment advice rather than simply staying at work.
Reservist training has no general statutory leave right; mobilisation has separate reinstatement rights. See leave for reservists. Trade union duties also have separate rules, including paid leave for qualifying duties. Neither belongs under section 50.
Who is left out
Section 50 is for employees, not workers who are not employees or the genuinely self-employed. Zero-hours employees can qualify if no exclusion applies. The contract label does not settle your status; see our zero-hours guide.
GOV.UK lists exclusions for agency workers, police service and armed forces members, merchant seamen, fishing-vessel employees, gas or oil rig employees at sea, and civil servants whose public duties conflict with contractual political-activity restrictions. Agency staff should not assume employee status alone gives them this leave.
A jury summons is separate. Court allowances may be available without employee employment protections. Scottish courts accept zero-hours earnings evidence through employer confirmation of shifts offered or foregone. Save your rotas and ask for written confirmation.
If your employer refuses
For a listed public role, the issue is whether the time off requested was reasonable. The employer cannot replace that test with a blanket ban. Jury service has separate protections. Keep the request, refusal, rota and any threats about shifts or dismissal.
- Request specific hours in writing. State the role, duty, dates and working hours affected. Attach the appointment letter or summons, ask about pay and save the reply outside work.
- Challenge the refusal. Ask for written reasons and explain why the time is needed. Raise a formal grievance if necessary; ask your union rep to help and accompany you. Do not simply miss a shift while the right is disputed.
- Get advice promptly. Contact Acas, Citizens Advice or a law centre in Great Britain; the Labour Relations Agency or Advice NI in Northern Ireland. USDAW, UNISON, GMB and Unite organise across retail, care, health, logistics and other essential jobs. Ask your workplace’s union about support. Joining does not guarantee help with an existing dispute.
- Notify the conciliation service. Before a tribunal claim, notify Acas in Great Britain or the Labour Relations Agency in Northern Ireland, unless exempt. Section 51 or Northern Ireland’s Article 79 allows a declaration and compensation for public duties refusals. Jury claims use separate grounds. See bringing a tribunal claim.
The deadline is not the grievance deadline
For a section 50 failure in Great Britain on or after 1 October 2026, the ordinary limit is 6 months less a day from the failure. Earlier failures, and Northern Ireland public duties claims, keep 3 months less a day. Timely early conciliation affects the filing date. Get it checked and do not wait for a grievance or appeal to finish.
A failure on 1 October 2026 in Great Britain would ordinarily have a deadline of 31 March 2027, before any conciliation adjustment. Repeated refusals, dismissal and multiple claims can involve different trigger dates. Ask an adviser to check each.
Scotland and Northern Ireland
Scotland uses the same section 50 right and employment tribunal route as England and Wales. Its listed bodies include councils, Health Boards, parent councils, specified education bodies, SEPA and Scottish Water. The jury allowance caps differ, as shown above.
In Northern Ireland, Article 78 gives the parallel right. Its list includes justices of the peace, district councillors, statutory tribunal members, prison monitoring boards, the Northern Ireland Library Authority, specified health and education bodies, and policing and community safety partnerships. Education coverage includes grant-aided school governors.
Article 79 gives the industrial tribunal remedy. Jury protections sit in Articles 67M and 130B. Early conciliation goes through the Labour Relations Agency. The 14-day juror allowance deadline is separate from employment claims. See Northern Ireland employment law.
What is in force and what is only proposed
- Changes to the role list proposed
The Department for Business and Trade published its review and consultation. Proposals include adding academy governors, special constables, fee-paid judges and certain other governance roles, and removing specified national health bodies, the Environment Agency, SEPA and Scottish Water. The consultation closed on 4 September 2026. These are proposals, not rights in force.
- Longer tribunal limit takes effect in Great Britain
Section 152 and Schedule 12 of the Employment Rights Act 2025 were commenced by SI 2026/954. For section 51 claims, the longer limit applies where the failure occurs on or after this date. Earlier failures keep the old limit. Northern Ireland is unchanged.
Questions people ask
Is time off for public duties paid?
Not by statute. Check your contract, any binding policy and collective agreement. Court or council allowances have separate conditions.
How many days can you take as a councillor or magistrate?
No fixed number. The amount and timing must be reasonable given the duties, previous public duties or union leave, and business impact.
Can my employer make me use holiday for jury service?
You do not have to use annual leave. Your employer must release you, but can ask you to seek a delay. The court decides.
Do agency or zero-hours staff get public duties leave?
Agency workers are listed among the exclusions. Zero-hours employees can qualify if no exclusion applies; non-employee workers cannot rely on section 50. Jury service is separate.
What if my manager refuses an academy governor meeting?
Academy governors in England are not covered by section 50 as at 1 October 2026. Check agreed leave. The proposed extension is not yet law.
What is the deadline to challenge a refusal?
For section 50 failures from 1 October 2026, ordinarily 6 months less a day in Great Britain. Earlier failures and Northern Ireland claims ordinarily have 3 months less a day. Contact Acas or the Labour Relations Agency promptly to check conciliation and your filing date.
Sources
- Employment Rights Act 1996, section 50: public duties leave, legislation.gov.uk.
- Employment Rights Act 1996, section 51: tribunal remedy, legislation.gov.uk.
- Employment Rights Act 1996, section 43M: jury service detriment, legislation.gov.uk.
- Employment Rights Act 1996, section 98B: jury service dismissal, legislation.gov.uk.
- Time off work for public duties, GOV.UK.
- Jury service: employee claims, daily caps and benefits, GOV.UK.
- Giving staff time off for jury service, GOV.UK.
- Juror expenses: Scottish rates, net loss and zero-hours evidence, Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service.
- Claiming juror allowances, including the 14-day deadline, nidirect.
- Time off for public duties in Northern Ireland, nidirect.
- Employment Rights (Northern Ireland) Order 1996, Article 78, legislation.gov.uk.
- Employment Rights (Northern Ireland) Order 1996, Article 79, legislation.gov.uk.
- Employment Rights (Northern Ireland) Order 1996, Article 67M, legislation.gov.uk.
- Employment Rights (Northern Ireland) Order 1996, Article 130B, legislation.gov.uk.
- Early conciliation before an employment tribunal claim, Acas.
- Early conciliation in Northern Ireland, nidirect.
- Employment Rights Act 2025, Schedule 12: tribunal time limits, legislation.gov.uk.
- SI 2026/954: commencement and transitional provisions, legislation.gov.uk.
- Time off for public duties review report, CP 1584, June 2026, Department for Business and Trade.
- Time off for public duties consultation, 12 June 2026, Department for Business and Trade.
- What is a magistrate? Financial loss allowance, magistrates recruitment service.
- Rights and responsibilities for reservists and employers, GOV.UK.
- National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage rates, GOV.UK.
- Payment of employment tribunal awards, 2013, IFF Research for the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.