{"id":9823,"date":"2023-01-21T12:20:42","date_gmt":"2023-01-21T12:20:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.qualitycompanyformations.co.uk\/blog\/?p=9823"},"modified":"2024-04-13T15:08:01","modified_gmt":"2024-04-13T14:08:01","slug":"jury-service-and-small-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.qualitycompanyformations.co.uk\/blog\/jury-service-and-small-business\/","title":{"rendered":"Jury service – how it affects small business"},"content":{"rendered":"
Jury service is a civic duty that the vast majority of people are eligible to perform from the age of 18. Receiving that pink jury summons through the post may be exciting for some, but its arrival can be a real pain in the proverbial for small business owners.<\/p>\n
If you or one of your employees has received a jury summons, or you\u2019re curious about the potential impact of either situation arising in the future, this guide will give you an idea of your personal options and responsibilities as an employer.<\/p>\n
This post is written with specific reference to jury service in England & Wales. There are different rules for Scotland<\/a> and Northern Ireland<\/a>.<\/p>\n In accordance with the Juries Act 1974<\/a>, a person is eligible for jury service if they:<\/p>\n Jurors are chosen completely at random from the electoral register, which includes more than 45 million people.<\/p>\n This means that some people are never called upon to play their part in the justice system, whilst others may receive multiple jury summons<\/a> throughout their lifetime. It\u2019s simply the luck (or misfortune) of the draw.<\/p>\n If you live in England and Wales, the chance of being called for jury service<\/a> is actually pretty slim at 35%. Whereas, in Scotland, you have a 95% chance of receiving a jury summons.<\/p>\n A person is automatically disqualified from serving on a jury if they:<\/p>\n Previously, certain individuals were ineligible for jury service in England & Wales on account of their profession – such as judges, solicitors, and police officers – but this exclusion was abolished by the Criminal Justice Act 2003.<\/p>\n If you receive a summons and believe that you are unable to participate on the required dates, you can ask the court to defer your period of jury service<\/a> for up to 12 months. In certain circumstances, you can ask to be excused.<\/p>\n Unfortunately, it is not something you can simply ignore. You may receive a fine of up to \u00a31,000 if you fail to respond to a jury summons, lie to avoid having to attend, or do not turn up for jury service.<\/p>\n Some of the reasons for which the court is most likely to approve a deferral request include:<\/p>\n You may only defer your jury service once. To do so, you must reply to your jury summons within seven days, providing your reasons alongside evidence to support your request (e.g. a letter from your doctor, or proof of your holiday booking).<\/p>\n Furthermore, you must provide three possible alternative dates that you will be available to serve on a jury in the next 12 months.<\/p>\n You can reply to the jury summons online<\/a>, or complete and return the form by post.<\/p>\n If you feel that you are unable to serve as a juror at any point during the next 12 months, you can ask to be excused. The courts will only grant such requests in exceptional circumstances, for example:<\/p>\n Additionally, you can ask to be excused if you are over the age of 70 or you have served on a jury within the last two years.<\/p>\n To make such a request, you need to reply to the jury summons within seven days of receiving it and explain your reasons. You may also have to provide evidence to support your request.<\/p>\n The courts endeavour to be accommodating of any such requests, considering each one on its individual merits. Typically, the Summoning Bureau will respond with their decision within 10 working days.<\/p>\n Running your own business as a self-employed person or limited company director<\/a> does not automatically excuse you from jury service. However, if attendance is likely to cause \u2018unusual hardship\u2019 for your business, the court may accept your request to defer or be excused.<\/p>\n It is important to outline all of the implications in detail when responding to the jury summons, for example:<\/p>\n If your reasoning is on account of client contracts or deadlines, it would be wise to include letters from your existing or prospective clients stating that your work is urgent and\/or essential.<\/p>\n Summoning officers will not hesitate to refuse a request if you do not have \u2018good reason\u2019, so it is important to provide as much information as possible.<\/p>\n However, they are expected to consider all applications for deferment or excusal carefully, sympathetically, and with particular regard to the individual circumstances of each request.<\/p>\n This includes small business owners whose absence from work would cause significant hardship to themselves or their clients.<\/p>\n If the court rejects your deferral or excusal request, you can appeal by writing to the Jury Central Summoning Bureau. You should include the following information in your letter or email:<\/p>\n Head of the Jury Central Summoning Bureau jurysummoning@justice.gov.uk<\/a><\/p>\n If you have any questions about jury service, you can contact the Jury Central Summoning Bureau:<\/p>\n jurysummoning@justice.gov.uk Opening hours are Monday to Thursday 9am to 5pm, and Friday 9am to 3pm.<\/p>\n The courts do \u2018compensate\u2019 jurors for loss of earnings and certain expenses, but the amounts you can claim are nominal and wholly insufficient for most people.<\/p>\n For every day that you attend court, you can usually claim up to:<\/p>\n Ordinarily, you will claim for expenses<\/a> at the end of your jury service but no more than 12 months after it started. You will usually be paid within 10 working days after submitting the claim form.<\/p>\n If you are facing financial hardship or the trial is likely to last a long time, the court may agree to pay your expenses during the trial.<\/p>\n To claim for earnings lost as a company director or self-employed individual, you must complete a self-employed loss of earnings form<\/a>.<\/p>\n You will need to include evidence of lost earnings, such as your most recent Self Assessment tax return, a letter from your accountant, or a letter from a client whose work you had to turn down on account of jury service.<\/p>\n The amount you can claim depends on your method of travel to and from the court.<\/p>\nWho is eligible for jury service?<\/h3>\n
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Who is exempt from jury service?<\/h3>\n
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Request to defer or be excused from jury duty<\/h3>\n
Deferring the date of your jury service<\/h4>\n
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Being excused from jury service<\/h4>\n
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When a business owner or company director is called for jury duty<\/h3>\n
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If your request is rejected<\/h4>\n
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\nHM Courts and Tribunals Service
\nJury Central Summoning Bureau
\nPhoenix House
\nBradford
\nBD3 7BH<\/p>\n
\nTelephone: 0300 456 1024
\nWelsh language telephone: 0300 303 5173<\/p>\nClaiming loss of earnings and expenses<\/h3>\n
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Claiming travel and parking costs<\/h4>\n