Jury Service and Your Employer in England and Wales

Who this guide is for

People in England and Wales who have been summoned for jury service and want to know what their employer must do about time off and pay, what they can claim from the court, and what to do if they are treated badly or dismissed. It also covers self-employed people claiming for lost earnings.

What this guide does not cover

• Jury service in Scotland or Northern Ireland: see the Scotland guide or the Northern Ireland guide.
• Who is disqualified from jury service, and what happens at court: this guide does not cover it. Read your summons or GOV.UK.
• Whether your employer can make you use holiday for jury service, or ask you to work on days the court does not need you: this guide does not cover it. Ask Acas.
• What protection you have if you are a worker but not an employee (for example some agency or zero hours workers): this guide does not cover it. Ask Acas.
• Your benefits after the first 8 weeks of jury service: ask the court or your work coach.
• Tribunal time limits in detail: see our tribunal deadline guide.

What the rules depend on

1. Where is the court? This guide is for jury service in England and Wales. Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own guides.
2. Are you an employee, a worker or self-employed? Employees: the time off, pay and protection rules below. Self-employed: you claim your own lost earnings from the court. A worker who is not an employee: ask Acas what protection you have.
3. Does your contract say you are paid during jury service? If it does, your employer must pay what it says. If it does not, your employer does not have to pay you and you claim from the court.
4. What has your employer done, and when? Refused time off, treated you badly or dismissed you. The date decides your time limit.

"Does my employer have to let me go?"

Yes. Your employer must let you have time off work for jury service. Give your employer a copy of your jury summons.

Jury service usually lasts up to 10 days, but it can be longer.

If you are not allowed time off, or you are treated badly for going, see the sections on being treated badly and being sacked below.

"Does my employer have to pay me?"

Not unless your contract says so. Your employer can choose whether to pay you during jury service, and many do.

If your employer does not pay you, you can claim a loss of earnings allowance from the court. Your employer fills in the certificate of loss of earnings that comes with your jury service letter, giving your net daily earnings.

If your employer pays you, it cannot claim that money back from the court. Some employers pay the difference between the court allowance and your usual take-home pay, so you do not lose out. They still fill in the certificate.

If your contract says you are paid during jury service and your employer does not pay you, that can count as treating you badly because of jury service (see below).

"How much can I claim from the court?"

You are not paid for doing jury service, but you can claim money back for lost earnings and some expenses. The daily limit covers loss of earnings and the cost of any care or childcare outside your usual arrangements, added together.

• First 10 days: up to £64.95 a day if you spend more than 4 hours at court, or up to £32.47 a day if you spend 4 hours or less.
• If your jury service lasts longer than 10 working days, the limit goes up to £129.91 a day for more than 4 hours at court, or £64.95 a day for 4 hours or less.
• Food and drink: usually £5.71 for each day you are at court.
• Travel: the cost of a bus, underground or standard class train ticket, or 31.4p a mile by car or motorcycle, or 9.6p a mile by bicycle. You can only claim for travel inside England and Wales, and you cannot claim for accommodation.

You are told how to claim expenses after your jury service has ended.

If you get benefits such as Universal Credit, show your jury summons to your benefit office or work coach as soon as you get it. Your benefits carry on for the first 8 weeks. After that, the court gives you a loss of earnings form to give to your benefit office or work coach.

"I'm self-employed"

If you are self-employed or a paid company director, claim for loss of earnings on the self-employed claim form and attach the evidence of your earnings that it asks for. The same daily limits apply. If the court pays you for loss of earnings, you must declare it as income on your tax return.

"My employer wants me to delay it"

Your employer can ask you to try to delay your jury service if your absence would seriously harm the business. You need a letter from your employer explaining why.

You can ask to change the date of your jury service once, to another date within the next 12 months. You need a good reason: GOV.UK gives your employer not giving you time off work as one example. Reply to your jury summons explaining your reasons in detail, and suggest 3 dates in the next 12 months that work for you.

You can ask to be excused only in exceptional circumstances, where it is not possible for you to do jury service in the next 12 months. You can also ask to be excused if you have done jury service in the last 2 years. If you are excused, you could still be summoned in the future.

If your request to change the date or be excused is refused, you can appeal by writing to the Jury Central Summoning Bureau. If a request to be excused is turned down, you can still ask to change the date.

You can be summoned if you are on the electoral register, are aged 18 to 75, and have lived in the UK, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man for at least 5 years since you were 13.

"My employer treated me badly because of jury service"

As an employee, you have the right not to be treated badly by your employer (subjected to a detriment) because you were summoned for jury service or were absent from work to attend. This is in the Employment Rights Act 1996.

Not being paid during jury service does not count as a detriment, unless your contract entitles you to be paid.

You can complain to an employment tribunal. Notify Acas first (see below).

"I was sacked because of jury service"

If you are an employee and the reason (or main reason) for your dismissal is that you were summoned for jury service, or were absent from work to attend, the dismissal is automatically unfair. You do not need any minimum length of service to claim.

There is one exception. The dismissal is not automatically unfair if your employer shows all of these: your absence was likely to cause substantial harm to the business, your employer told you so, and you unreasonably refused or failed to apply to be excused or to have your jury service deferred.

Being picked for redundancy because of jury service, where others in the same position were not dismissed, is also unfair.

This guide gives no figures for what a tribunal might award. Ask Acas.

"What do I do first?"

Before most claims you must notify Acas for early conciliation. It is free, and it pauses your time limit if you notify Acas within that time limit. If you contacted Acas on or after 1 December 2025, early conciliation can last up to 12 weeks.

Raising a grievance with your employer does not change your time limit. If it takes a long time, you still need to notify Acas before your time limit runs out.

Deadlines you must meet

• Most tribunal claims, including unfair dismissal: 3 months less 1 day from the act you are complaining about, or 6 months less 1 day where that act (or the last act in a series) happened on or after 1 October 2026.
• Notify Acas within your time limit. Early conciliation pauses the clock. After it ends you have at least 1 month from the day you receive the Acas certificate to make your claim.
• Your exact tribunal date depends on your facts: see our tribunal deadline guide.

Money figures

• The court's daily limits are the ones set out above. They are maximums: the court pays no more, and your employer does not have to make up the difference.
• This guide gives no tribunal award figures.

Traps

• The court allowance is not your wages. It is capped at a daily limit, whatever you normally earn.
• An employer that does not pay you during jury service is not breaking the law, unless your contract says it must pay.
• The protection from being treated badly or dismissed is for employees.
• You can only change the date of your jury service once.
• Do not use the 6-month limit for an act that happened before 1 October 2026.
• Scotland and Northern Ireland have different court allowances and rules.