Employee called for jury service

GAAmam said:
JUst got the letter in the post that I have been called, there is no mention of caring for your kids being an excuse in the list of exceptions..
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I am not exempt. Can I still apply to be excused?

Yes. You can apply to be excused from jury service even If you do not fall into any of the exempt categories. The relevant County Registrar will consider your request. They may excuse you if you show, to their satisfaction, that there is a good reason why you should be excused. Examples might include being self-employed, childcare, or medical reasons.
 
I think you can write in explaining that you have no childcare and it is acceptable.

I can see it’s an issue for some employers but it’s part and parcel of running a business same as sickness or other types of leave.

It used to be easy to get a letter from the boss, in fact I worked in places where there was a standard letter for it. That was a disgraceful practice IMO.

If we want a functional legal system we all have to chip in to the best of our ability. If it causes hardship then write in explaining that but don’t be surprised if you get pushback
 
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As others have said, they are very reasonable. Ask to be excused and explain the situation. You will be excused. The last thing they want is to have jurors present who don't want to, or can't, be there. It risks a mis-trial. Worst case scenario is that you show up on the first day and ask in person to be excused.
 
You don't mention how old your children are.

My wife received a jury summons when 39 weeks pregnant some years ago. The summons related to a date about 3 to 4 weeks from then.

I drafted a short factual letter detailing how it would not be possible for her to answer the summons on that occasion. She signed it, I posted it and the letter excusing her was received within the week.
 
HI, my youngest is 11 and still in Primary school; I got called approx. 2 years ago and I seem to recall there was more explicit info on being pardoned due to childcare.
I'd imagine they are getting a lot more pushback from working parents like myself that are juggling kids with work. If I was still going into the office every day I would have to have more structured childcare for the kids - be hard for me to attend court for an unknown duration; not to mention that I am self-employed and wouldn't get paid!
 
DannyBoyD said:
I'm puzzled - why did the person to whom the summons was addressed not deal with it?
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Not only 39 weeks pregnant, but also hospitalised.

Her husband, secretary and at that time general dogsbody did the necessaries and presented them for approval and signature. Like any sane man would I imagine .
 
I emailed them, stating that my youngest is 11 and still in Primary school, didn't mention being self-employed; got a mail back within a few days stating that I was excused; I didn't need to send any evidence. I seem to recall last time having to send in copies of the kids birth certs.
 
I had to go in Jury duty. My employer went mad, threatening not to pay me when i showed them the notice. When they calmed down the demanded that i get out of it.
At that point i felt like i had done something wrong and was interested in doing the jury duty anyway.
So I just told my employer i had asked to be excused and they said no.
I got picked and had to attend for 2 weeks. Employer got antsy again and demanded i come in after it was over to go back to work for the day.
The first day i did go in and ended uyp staying til 10pm and then back in for jury the next day.
Every day after that i just said it went on all day and i didnt have time to go into the office, even days when the court ended after only an hour.
Anyway im glad i did the jury service as it was a very interesting experience to have. If my employer had been nicer about it i probably would have tried to get out of it.
Dont annoy your employee about this. Its not their fault. And if you make too much of a deal about it they wont cooperate with you.
One more thing. On the day i got picked several people went up and gave excuses and asked could they be let go home. They got told that it was their duty and they would have to attend. So it depends on the mood of the judge at that point. I heard later that if your excuse was work related it didnt count as much as if it was family/personally related, if if you have a holiday booked. I think they expect every employer to ask the employee to try and get out of it.
 
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