What happens when I am summoned for jury service?
You must reply within seven days, deferral is normally granted once, and the pay is an allowance with a daily cap rather than your salary.
- Difficulty
- beginner
- Time
- 15 min
- Read
- 3 min
Short answer
Reply to the summons within seven days, online or by post — failing to reply is itself an offence. You can usually defer once to a more convenient date within twelve months; excusal is granted only in limited circumstances. Employers must release you but are not obliged to pay you, and the court's loss-of-earnings allowance is capped at a daily rate well below many salaries.
The summons arrives with no warning and a short reply deadline, and the two most useful facts are not obvious from it: deferral is routine and excusal is not, and the money is an allowance rather than a wage. Both are worth knowing on day one rather than discovering in week two.
Step by step
- Reply within seven days.Online or by returning the form. This is a legal obligation, not a courtesy, and non-reply can lead to a fine. Reply even if you intend to ask for a deferral or excusal — the reply is where you ask.
- Check whether you are eligible.Broadly you must be on the electoral register, aged eighteen to seventy-five, and resident in the UK for a qualifying period since the age of thirteen. Certain criminal convictions disqualify a person permanently or for a period, and people currently on bail cannot serve.
- Ask for a deferral rather than an excusal.Deferral moves your service to another date within twelve months and is normally granted once, for reasons such as a booked holiday, exams, a business that cannot spare you, or a medical procedure. Excusal removes the obligation altogether and is granted only in limited circumstances such as recent previous service, serious ill health or caring responsibilities that cannot be covered.
- Give your employer the summons immediately.Employers must release employees for jury service and cannot penalise them for going. Many organisations pay full salary during jury service as a matter of policy — check the handbook, because it changes the financial picture entirely.
- Understand the money.The court pays a loss-of-earnings allowance with a daily cap that increases after ten days, plus travel and a subsistence rate. It is not your salary. Where your employer pays you, they complete a certificate of loss of earnings and you claim nothing for earnings.
- Expect the length to be about two weeks, with exceptions.Standard service is around ten working days. You may be told your trial will run longer before being sworn in, and you can raise a genuine difficulty at that point.
- Plan for the waiting.Much of jury service is sitting in the assembly area waiting to be called to a panel, and being balloted onto a jury is not guaranteed. Take something to do, and check the court's rules on devices, which vary.
- Claim expenses as you go.Travel, parking, subsistence and childcare or care costs within the published limits. Claims have deadlines and need receipts; doing it at the end of each week is easier than reconstructing it.
- Know the rules on discussing the case.Researching a case, discussing it outside the jury room, or disclosing deliberations are criminal offences carrying substantial penalties. This includes searching online for anyone involved. The court explains it, and it is taken extremely seriously.
Questions people ask
Can I get out of jury service?
Deferral to a later date within twelve months is normally granted once for a good reason. Full excusal is granted only in limited circumstances such as recent previous service, serious ill health, or caring responsibilities that cannot be covered.
Do I get paid for jury service?
The court pays a capped loss-of-earnings allowance plus travel and subsistence, not your salary. Many employers pay full pay as a matter of policy; they are not legally required to.
Can my employer refuse to let me go?
No. Employers must release staff for jury service and cannot dismiss or penalise someone for attending. An employer can write to the court asking for a deferral if the timing is genuinely impossible for the business.