# Employee called for jury service



## FranWall (11 Nov 2019)

I’m self employed and employ someone 3 days a week, he has been called to do jury service. Do I have to pay him while he’s doing jury service?


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## Sue Ellen (11 Nov 2019)

Perhaps this will answer your query and it is taken from here:


*Payment for jury service*
You are not paid for jury service and travelling expenses are not allowed. If you are actually serving as a juror, lunch will be provided on the day or days of the trial.

If you are self-employed and work alone and your attendance at jury service means you cannot earn a living, you may qualify to be excused from jury service. Contact the jury office of the court for more information.

If you are signing on for a Jobseeker's payment you will continue to be paid, but you should advise your local social welfare office that you have been called for jury service.

If you are in employment, your employer must let you attend jury service. Time spent on jury service should be treated as if the employee were actually employed. In other words, if you are in employment and are attending for jury service, you are entitled to be paid while you are away from work. If you have a contract of employment, for example, (temporary workers or contract workers) you are entitled to be paid by your employer while you are on jury service. There should also be no loss of any other employment rights while you serve on a jury. You can request a certificate from the jury office to confirm your attendance at jury service.

If you feel your employment rights have been infringed or you have lost employment rights while serving on a jury, you can make a complaint to the Workplace Relations Commission using the online complaint form available on workplacerelations.ie. Read more about enforcing your employment rights here.


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## NoRegretsCoyote (11 Nov 2019)

Yes.



> *Am I entitled to get paid for Jury service?*
> You do not get any payment for Jury service. If you are an employee, your employer must allow you to attend for jury service. The time spent by you on jury service is to be treated as time at work, if it involves time away from your employment. Therefore, your pay and any other benefits will continue to accrue. The County Registrar will provide a certificate of attendance if requested.



It's really daft as it acts as a very heavy and random tax on businesses. Bigger firms are able to absorb it but it's a real drag on a small person such as yourself.

I really think employers should get some reimbursement from the social insurance fund for the employers' PRSI they pay.


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## Sunny (12 Nov 2019)

Ask the employee to request being allowed off on the basis that it will cause you as a small employer undue hardship. They tend to be very reasonable to requests as long as you make the effort to engage with them. However, to be fair to the employee he might want to do it so yes you will have to pay him.....


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## FranWall (12 Nov 2019)

Thank you for your replies. Yes it is a financial burden and inconvenience to a small business.


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## twofor1 (12 Nov 2019)

Sunny said:


> Ask the employee to request being allowed off on the basis that it will cause you as a small employer undue hardship.


I think this is the way to go. It is a big ask of a small company to pay jury duty.

I was called 2 years ago, I was selected on the last day for a case they estimated would last 1 week, it lasted 2 so I was out for 3 weeks, my large employer paid me in full.

Some of the cases when I was there were estimated to last days, others weeks, one was estimated to last 3 months.


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## EmmDee (13 Nov 2019)

Sunny said:


> Ask the employee to request being allowed off on the basis that it will cause you as a small employer undue hardship. They tend to be very reasonable to requests as long as you make the effort to engage with them. However, to be fair to the employee he might want to do it so yes you will have to pay him.....



The problem with that is that it skews the juries. It's not really a random selection of the population if everybody with a job manages to excuse themselves. Though I understand the pressure.


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## NoRegretsCoyote (13 Nov 2019)

EmmDee said:


> It's not really a random selection of the population if everybody with a job manages to excuse themselves. Though I understand the pressure.



It can and never will be a random sample of the population:

Some people don't register to vote and will never get called
Some people (deliberately) won't show up for whatever reason
Some people are not literate enough to read the letter and respond to it
Others (like teachers) are excused by the rules
This does not happen in a random fashion.


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## EmmDee (14 Nov 2019)

NoRegretsCoyote said:


> It can and never will be a random sample of the population:
> 
> Some people don't register to vote and will never get called
> Some people (deliberately) won't show up for whatever reason
> ...



LESS random then - if it becomes just the retired and unemployed it is an issue. There is also the question of "service" which is sometimes taken less seriously here than other countries I am familiar with. I have members of my team in other countries and the question of "how to skip out of jury duty" just wouldn't be asked.

I don't know - I get that it is difficult for a small business


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## johnwilliams (14 Nov 2019)

why are teachers excused? actually who else are excused?


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## SparkRite (14 Nov 2019)

johnwilliams said:


> why are teachers excused? actually who else are excused?


Loads, see below.
Lifted from 'thejournal.ie' :-

_Any Irish citizen over the age of 18 and under the age of 70 is eligible to be selected, but certain occupations are exempt.
Those automatically excluded are, according to the Citizens Information Service:
“Those involved in any way with the administration of justice. This includes judges, former judges, the President, the Attorney General, the Director of Public Prosecutions, members of the Gardai and defence forces, prison officers, practising barristers, solicitors, court officers such as registrars and personnel in Government departments involved in matters of justice or the courts.”
Then, there are those who are excused from service. This includes doctors, nurses, midwives, dentists, vets and chemists. You are also excused if you can prove that your job is of vital importance and you are a member of staff of either House of the Oireachtas, a head of a government departments, other civil servants, chief executive officers and employees of local authorities, HSE staff and staff of harbour authorities, school teachers and university lecturers.
You are also excused if you are a full-time student, a pilot, a ship’s captain or if you’ve been on a jury in the last three years.
You’re also disqualified if you’ve been convicted of a serious offence, spent more than five years in prison or have spent three months in jail in the last ten years._


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## Delboy (14 Nov 2019)

I was on a Jury earlier this year for 3 weeks in the CCC. 1 Juror was told by his boss he wouldn't pay him as he was on his notice period having handed in his notice a few weeks earlier. That Juror told the Foreman who passed it on to the Registrar who came back later that day with a very strongly worded letter from the Judge advising the employer of the repercussions of not paying someone while on Jury service. That was the end of that


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## Sunny (15 Nov 2019)

Could be worse. A colleague of mine went for jury duty and when got called was greeted by the defendant with a hiya Dave (Old School Friend).....The judge just laughed and he was excused


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## Purple (15 Nov 2019)

Sunny said:


> Could be worse. A colleague of mine went for jury duty and when got called was greeted by the defendant with a hiya Dave (Old School Friend).....The judge just laughed and he was excused


He should have kept his mouth shut!


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## CarolC (26 Jan 2020)

What about someone who does agency work?  I've been called for jury service but I only get paid for actual hours I work so can't afford to take time off


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## MrEarl (26 Jan 2020)

Perhaps write in and ask to be excused from service on that basis?


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## Purple (27 Jan 2020)

Who was it who said that if you end up in court you'll face a jury of people who were too stupid to get out of jury duty?


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## michaelm (27 Jan 2020)

MrEarl said:


> Perhaps write in and ask to be excused from service on that basis?


I doubt that excuse would be accepted.  If however they don't reply at all they won't hear any more about it . . not that I am recommending this course of action, but I know what I would do in their situation.


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## Leo (27 Jan 2020)

michaelm said:


> I doubt that excuse would be accepted.



They are usually quite reasonable. There's a large no-show rate, so I think they're happy to try accommodate people who take the time to respond.


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