If you are self-employed
If you are self-employed and can show that jury service would cause serious harm to your business, you can apply to be excused.
The Juries Act 1976 does not provide compensation to self-employed people for time spent on jury service.
If you are employed
You can ask to be excused from jury service in exceptional circumstances. Your employer cannot apply for you.
Telling your employer about jury service
When you receive a jury summons, you should tell your employer immediately that you have been called for jury service. At this point, you will not be able to tell them how long you might be absent for.
The length of your jury service will vary depending on whether or not you are selected for a jury panel for a specific trial. The trial length will depend on the case in question, and the judge will let you know what to expect.
Getting paid while on jury service
The law protects people who are on jury service. By law, employers must pay employees who are undertaking jury service.
During any time that you are absent from your job to comply with a jury summons, you are considered employed or apprenticed. Your employer cannot dismiss you or disadvantage you in any way because of attending for jury service.
After your jury service is over, you can ask for a certificate of attendance from the court staff (or if you replied to your jury summons online, then you will have online access to your certificate of attendance for six months). You can then give this to your employer.
