jury service

[bednobs]

Hi, mr bednobs has just been summoned for jury service in January. Having looked at the paperwork, it seems your employer does not have to pay you for the days you do it, but that you can claim money from the courts for loss of earnings. having looked at the website, the loss of earnings allowance will not cover his normal wages (about 1/2 of his normal pay or about 1/3 if he is there for less than 4 hours- of course if he is only there for 1/2 a day it will be ahrd for him to go into work for the rest of the day seeing as we are rural and court is in 1 direction and work is in the other! )
anyone with experience of jury service? Did you manage to persuade your employer to still pay you? or make up the difference? Surely you can't be expected to live on less money (albeit for probably a short while) for fulfilling your civic duty? Hey, i know i sound moany but even a weeks worth of short pay makes a difference while i am on mat leave/pay and we still ahve the same comitments and outgoings

[dotty.]

it should be included in the terms and conditions in his contract of employment, he could also take it as paid holiday, not sure if he can then claim for his time at court though, Elvis68 did jury service not long ago he may have some info

[maclarencat]

My husband did jury service and yea he lost out and was there for 8 days! His company said he could take it as holiday but they wouldnt make up the lost pay.

[bednobs]

cumbs, i hope they don't make him take it as holiday - it's all committed till the end of the year

[hc4361]

Why on earth should his company pay?

[twix123]

Jury service can last for up to two weeks, unless chosen for a really lengthy trial for which you would get an advance warning with the possibility of being able to avoid that case. A good employer would give your husband paid leave, although expecting him to return to work if allowed to leave the court early (when not actually sitting on a panel).

I was chosen for jury service a few months after I had taken redundancy/early retirement and therefore couldn't claim any loss of earnings, or look for another job during that period.

[bednobs]

no, i agree that his company shouldn't have to pay, but you would think the court would recognise that people get paid different amounts, some of which are higher than the loss of earnings recompense you get. I understand that he gets paid a lot compared to some people, but of course, probably no matter how much you get paid, you have outgoings that are commensurate with that level of earnings, and 10 days at 1/3 to 1/2 pay is a bind for anyone, whether you earn minimum wage or 100k a year i suppose.

[bednobs]

well after all that worry, mr bed's work are going to pay him full pay! Apparently it's a hangover from when his workplace used to be civil service

[bushbaby_de]

they can't make him take it as holiday but equally they don't have to pay him, so choosing to take it as holiday can avoid the loss of earnings. nice to hear they have offered to cover it though.