Jury service leave UK: employer rules, pay and holiday

Yes. You must allow an employee time off if they are called to serve on a jury, and you cannot discriminate against them for going. This is not a request you can approve or refuse in the way you would approve holiday. Your choice is limited to how you cover the work, how you pay, and whether to ask the employee to seek a change of date.

The protection comes from the Employment Rights Act 1996. Section 43M gives employees the right not to suffer a detriment because they were summoned for jury service or were absent from work to attend. Section 98B treats a dismissal as automatically unfair where the main reason is the summons or the absence, and the usual qualifying period for unfair dismissal does not apply to that claim.

There is a narrow defence in section 98B. It applies only where the employer shows the absence was likely to cause substantial injury to the business, told the employee so, and the employee unreasonably refused or failed to apply for excusal or deferral. In practice, the safe route is to raise business concerns early, give the employee a letter explaining them, and let the court decide.

Jury service usually lasts up to 10 working days. If a trial is expected to run longer, jury staff tell the juror. If the trial is shorter, the juror may be asked to sit on other trials within the period, so an early verdict does not always mean an early return.

Jurors are usually needed at court from 10am to 5:30pm, Monday to Friday, although times vary and the first day starts earlier. A person who receives a summons must respond within 7 days. Ask the employee to share the summons dates as soon as it arrives so you have the longest possible run-in for cover.

No. You do not have to pay staff while they are doing jury service, but many employers do. Section 43M also confirms that not paying for the absence is not in itself a detriment, unless the employee's contract entitles them to pay. Check the contract, handbook and any past practice before you decide, and put the answer in writing for the employee.

Employers usually choose one of three approaches: full pay, no pay, or a top-up. If you keep paying full wages, the employee has no loss of earnings to claim from the court. If you stop pay, the employee claims a loss of earnings allowance from the court. If you top up, you pay the gap between the court allowance and the employee's usual take-home pay.

Whatever you pay, you cannot reclaim it from the court or the government. You also cannot claim back money the business loses while the employee is away.

In England and Wales the court pays loss of earnings and care costs up to a daily cap. The cap depends on how long the juror spends at court that day and how many days they have served. The daily figure covers lost earnings plus any care or childcare costs outside the juror's usual arrangements.

Jurors can also claim travel and a food and drink allowance. Travel is limited to costs inside England and Wales, and accommodation cannot be claimed. Claims are made at the end of service and must be submitted no more than 12 months after jury service started. Payment usually arrives 7 to 10 working days after the claim form is submitted.

If you are not paying wages during jury service, you complete a certificate of loss of earnings for the employee. The employee receives the form with their jury service letter, and it should come back to them completed in time to take it to court on their first day.

Only certify earnings the employee will actually lose. If you are topping up, the certificate reflects the pay you are not providing, and your top-up is worked out after the court allowance. If the employee filled in their part themselves, check the employer section before you sign it and make sure the figures match payroll. Keep a copy with the absence record.

Yes, tell payroll. Whether you pay, stop pay or top up, payroll needs the dates and the pay decision before the next pay run. If you keep paying, work out tax and National Insurance in the normal way.

For a top-up, take the court allowance away from the employee's usual take-home pay. Then use payroll software to work out the net to gross amount and deduct tax and National Insurance from it.

If jury service lasts longer than 3 months, enter Yes in the Irregular payment pattern indicator field of your Full Payment Submission. When the employee returns, they may have unused Personal Allowance on a cumulative tax code, and payroll software will show whether they pay less tax on their next payday or are due a refund.

Jury service is a separate type of absence from annual leave. The right to time off for jury service stands on its own, so there is nothing in the law that requires the absence to be taken from holiday entitlement. Record it under its own leave type so it does not reduce the holiday balance.

An employee may still choose to book paid holiday for some days so they keep their full wage. That is their choice, not something to require. Holiday pay is earnings, so do not also certify those days as lost earnings on the court certificate. Record which days were holiday and which were jury service so payroll and the court claim match.

If an employee is summoned for dates that clash with booked holiday, they can ask the court to change the date, explaining why. The court decides. Until the employee has written confirmation of a new date, keep both the booked holiday and the summons dates on the record.

You can ask your employee to try to delay their jury service if their absence would seriously harm your business. They will need a letter from you explaining why. You cannot cancel the summons or apply on their behalf to get them out of it: the decision belongs to the court.

A date can only be changed once. The employee replies to the summons explaining their reasons in detail and can suggest three possible dates within the next 12 months. Being excused altogether is only allowed in exceptional circumstances, such as serious illness or being a full-time carer, and business pressure alone is unlikely to meet that test.

If a request to change the date or be excused is refused, the employee can appeal in writing to the Head of the Jury Central Summoning Bureau. Keep your cover plan for the original dates in place until the employee has confirmation of any change.

Record every day of jury service, even when the employee attended once and was not picked for a trial. It shows the absence was a protected one, keeps pay and the court certificate consistent, and stops the day being mistaken for unauthorised absence or sickness.

Agree in advance what happens on days the court does not need the employee or releases them early. Many employers ask staff to contact their manager, but be realistic about travel time and the late finish of a court day, and set the expectation in your policy rather than case by case.