Following a tightening up of the exclusions from jury service, virtually all adults who are not in prison are eligible to be called for jury service and approximately 450,000 jurors are called annually.

If you are called to serve on a jury, your employer must release you but does not have to pay you for the days that you do jury service. However, your employer must give you, on request, a certificate of loss of earnings so that you can make a claim to Her Majesty’s Courts Service. This should be brought to the court on the first day of service and should state whether or not you may return to work on the days or half-days that you are not required at court.

The self-employed and ‘one-man band’ company owners are more likely to be excused from jury service if they can show that their business is unlikely to be able to continue in their absence. However, if not excused, evidence of loss of income on account of lost orders and so on may have to be provided.

Travelling and subsistence expenses are also paid. For full details of what you can claim for see http://www.cjsonline.gov.uk/juror/expenses/index.html