Worried about my job during jury service
I’ve been told I’ve got to do jury service but I’m worried about what will happen to my job while I’m away. Will I still get paid? And what happens if I’m off for a while on a long case? Can my employer sack me?
Broadly speaking, unless you’re a lawyer, or work in the prison service (or you’ve been in prison yourself) there’s not much you can do to get out of jury service. You can certainly try to get yourself excused, say on the basis that you can’t leave your job, or have childcare needs, but there’s no obligation on the courts to allow this. They may end up simply deferring the inevitable.
Your employer is bound to release you from work for jury service. If they refuse to do so, they’ll potentially be in contempt of court and liable to a fine or maybe even imprisonment. The bad news is, though, unless there’s anything in your contract or the staff handbook, which says otherwise, there’s no requirement that your employer must continue to pay you while you’re absent. You will be entitled to some compensation from the court (it should be set out in the letter you’ve received) but this is set according to a standard formula and doesn’t take account of your actual financial loss.
If your employer sacks you, or threatens to sack you as a result of going on jury service, again, these are serious contempt of court issues and your employer could get into a lot of trouble. I’m sorry this doesn’t give you complete certainty that you won’t be sacked – but in practice, it’s extremely unlikely and, in the absolute worst-case scenario, you’d have every expectation of being compensated for your dismissal.
Live Q&A on Ask The Expert
Employment lawyer Rachel Lewis advises on your work-related issues
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