MAKE YOUR FREE Jury Service Policy
What we'll cover
What is a Jury Service Policy?
When should I use a Jury Service Policy?
Use this Jury Service Policy:
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if you or your business employ staff in England, Wales or Scotland
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to explain how staff should communicate with you about jury service
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to set out your approach to pay and procedures related to jury service
Sample Jury Service Policy
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JURY SERVICE POLICY
Statement and Purpose of Policy
- is committed to enabling employees to perform any jury service that you may be obliged to undertake and so will allow you time off to do so where it does not conflict with the operational needs of the business.
- This Policy only applies to employees. It does not apply to agency workers or self-employed contractors.
- No employee will be penalised or subjected to any detriment for asking for, or taking, time off work to attend jury service.
- This Policy does not form part of any employee's contract of employment and we reserve the right to amend this Policy at any time.
- Any abuse of the right to time off for jury service will be regarded as serious misconduct and may lead to disciplinary action against the employee.
- If you have any questions about time off for public duties, please refer them to.
Procedure Before Jury Service Begins
- If you are called for jury service you must let know at the earliest opportunity.
- You must provide a copy of your jury summons/citation to enable us to make arrangements whilst you are away and to understand the amount of time you'll need off. We will hold a copy of this jury summons/citation on file.
- Jury service typically lasts for 10 days. If your jury service is expected to last longer, you will be notified by the courts and you must inform us.
- Your manager will then consult affected teams or departments to discuss arrangements that need to be made.
- In the event that your absence for jury service would severely impact or disrupt the business, we may ask you to submit a request to the court to defer jury service (or a request for excusal from jury service, if you are based in Scotland).
- If we require you to defer or apply for excusal from jury service, we will provide a supporting letter outlining the reasons why we are requesting that you defer or apply for excusal from jury service. Where we consider that this applies, you should not submit an application for excusal or deferral before we have provided you with a letter (and any other relevant evidence) to support the application. We will provide a supporting letter (and any other relevant evidence) within 48 hours of you notifying us.
- If your jury service is deferred or you have been excused, we will work with you to allocate time in the future to attend jury service.
- If we do not require you to defer or apply for excusal from jury service, we will grant you the necessary amount of time off work to perform jury service.
Pay
- Time off for jury service will be.
- You must send the Certificate of Loss of Earnings or Benefit form to us as soon as possible and in advance of the period of jury service.
- You should hand the completed Loss of Earnings Form to the court where your jury service is required.
- The court will then pay you for your attendance at jury service and provide written confirmation of how much payment has been made.
Returning to Work
Attribution
- This Jury Service Policy was created using a document from Rocket Lawyer (https://www.rocketlawyer.com/gb/en).
About Jury Service Policies
Learn more about making your Jury Service Policy
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How to make a Jury Service Policy
Making a Jury Service Policy online is simple. Just answer a few questions and Rocket Lawyer will build your document for you. When you have all of the details prepared in advance, making your document is a quick and easy process.
To make your Jury Service Policy you will need the following information:
Employer details
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What is the employer’s name?
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Who should employees contact if they have questions about how jury service affects their employment?
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Who should employees tell if they've received a jury summons or citation?
Jury service
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Will employees be paid during jury service? If so, how much will they be paid?
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Can or should employees return to work if their jury service finishes one or more days earlier than expected?
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Can or should employees return to work if they are not needed in court for all or some of a jury service day?
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Common terms in a Jury Service Policy
A Jury Service Policy sets out your business’ procedures and payment practices for employees undertaking jury service. As a result, this Jury Service Policy template covers:
Statement and purpose of Policy
This section provides basic details about the Jury Service Policy. These include:
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why the employer is adopting the Policy
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an explanation that the Jury Service Policy applies to employees only and not to agency workers or self-employed contractors
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clarification that this Policy is non-contractual and may be amended by the employer
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who to contact about questions related to jury service
Procedure before jury service begins
This section outlines the process employees should follow before they have to undertake their jury service duty. This includes information on:
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the amount of notice employees must give
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whether a jury summons/citation needs to be provided as proof of jury service
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when the employer may ask employees to defer jury service and how the employer will support such applications for deferral
Pay
This section sets out whether employees will receive pay while undertaking jury duty. Depending on the employer’s payment policy, employees may either receive:
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their normal pay in full (without the employee having to claim expenses from the court)
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payment to the amount needed to bring their income to its normal rate
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some of their normal pay
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no payment
In all but the first situation, an employee should submit the Certificate of Loss of Earnings or Benefit form attached to the summons/citation to HMRC. This will allow them to receive reimbursement, up to a limit, for their loss of earnings due to their absence from work due to jury service.
Returning to work
This section covers employees returning to work early if their jury service ends before the expected end date. It sets out whether an employee can, should or cannot return to work if their jury service finishes one or more days earlier than expected or if they are not needed in court for all or some of a jury service day.
If you want your Jury Service Policy to include further or more detailed provisions, you can edit your document. However, if you do this, you may want a lawyer to review or change the Policy for you, to make sure it complies with all relevant laws and meets your specific needs. Ask a lawyer for assistance.
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Legal tips for making a Jury Service Policy
Carefully consider whether employees can return to work early
Your Jury Service Policy will set out whether employees can return to work if their jury service ends earlier than expected. While you may think that it will be advantageous to allow or even require employees to return early, consider whether this is truly the case. If you have had to hire temporary cover to file the employee’s role (eg because the jury service is longer than the typical 10 days) it may be better to ask the employee not to return on any days on which they aren’t needed. For more information, read the FAQ ‘Can I prevent employees from returning to work if their jury service finishes early?‘.
Understand when to seek advice from a lawyer
Ask a lawyer for advice if:
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this document doesn’t meet your specific needs
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an employee is undertaking a particularly long period of jury service and this is affecting your business
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you need help explaining why an employee being absent for jury service would seriously harm your business
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Jury Service Policy FAQs
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What is included in a Jury Service Policy?
This Jury Service Policy template covers:
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your workplace procedures for employees summoned for jury service
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your pay policy for employees undertaking jury service
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procedures for claiming the loss of earnings allowance and other reimbursement for expenses from the court
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procedures for asking employees to defer their jury service
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Do I need a Jury Service Policy?
Jury service is an important civic duty which employers should, when possible, make it practical for employees to undertake. If you employ anybody, you should create a Jury Service Policy to set out your business’ approach to employees’ jury service. This Policy can help you to communicate with your employees about jury service so that they can confidently undertake their service whilst inconveniencing your business as little as possible. For more information, read Jury service.
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Do I have to pay employees during their jury service?
Employers do not have to pay their employees while they’re doing jury service. If you do not pay them, employees can claim a loss of earnings allowance from the court as well as reimbursement for some expenses.
You may choose to pay employees or to top up the amount they receive from the courts so that it matches their normal rate of pay. For more information, read Jury service.
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Do I have to let employees do jury service?
Employees can only avoid doing jury service if exceptional circumstances make this necessary. They can postpone their jury service for up to 12 months if they have a good reason for doing so. If an employee doing jury service when requested would seriously harm their employer’s business, this can constitute a ‘good reason’. For more information, read Jury service.
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Can I prevent employees from returning to work if their jury service finishes early?
If you hire somebody else to perform an employee’s job while they are doing jury service, it may be impractical for the employee to return to work earlier than expected if their jury service finishes early. For example, you may have made a contractual agreement with the fill-in employee which means they will work the whole of the expected period of jury service, and having two people perform the role at once may be impractical.
If this is the case, you can require employees to not return to work early if they finish jury duty sooner than expected. You can include provisions explaining this in your Jury Service Policy, to ensure that employees are aware of your rules on returning to work before they begin their jury duty.
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