Jury service and public duties leave in the United Kingdom
Reviewed by Mellow Editorial Team, HR & payroll content team
Employees called for jury service or public duties have a legal right to take time off work. As an employer, you cannot refuse this leave, but the rules around pay, duration and what counts as a qualifying duty are less straightforward than many people assume.
What the law actually requires
The right to time off for jury service is protected under the Employment Rights Act 1996. Employees must be allowed to attend — refusing or penalising them risks an employment tribunal claim, and under the Employment Rights Act 2025, day-one rights are now broader, so this protection applies from the first day of employment.
Public duties follow similar logic. Employees who hold certain civic roles — magistrate, local councillor, school governor, member of a statutory tribunal, or a role with certain public bodies — are entitled to reasonable time off to carry out those duties. What counts as "reasonable" depends on the needs of the business and how much time the employee has already taken.
Neither right is unlimited. For public duties specifically, you can refuse time off that is genuinely unreasonable given operational demand — but you should be able to demonstrate that, and declining requests repeatedly or without good reason is a risk.
Does the employer have to pay?
For jury service, the short answer is no — there is no statutory requirement to pay your employees their normal salary while they sit on a jury. Courts pay jurors a loss of earnings allowance directly (subject to a daily cap set by HMCTS), along with travel and subsistence.
Most employers do top up to full pay, at least for the first few days or weeks. This is good practice and reduces stress for employees, but it is a contractual choice, not a legal obligation. Check your employment contracts and staff handbook — if top-up pay is mentioned there, it is binding.
For public duties, the same principle applies. There is no statutory right to paid time off. Some employers pay in full; others treat it as unpaid leave; others allow employees to make up lost hours. Whatever your approach, document it clearly and apply it consistently.
One practical point: if an employee is receiving the HMCTS loss of earnings allowance and you are also paying them, make sure the arrangement is clear — some employers require employees to pass across the court allowance to avoid double payment.
Managing payroll during jury service
Even when an employee is on unpaid jury leave, their employment continues. You still need to run payroll correctly.
If you are topping up to normal pay, process that pay as usual via RTI — a Full Payment Submission to HMRC on or before each payday, as standard. If the employee is receiving no pay from you for a period, you may need to submit an Employer Payment Summary (EPS) or flag the gap correctly depending on how long the absence lasts.
Pension auto-enrolment continues to apply. If you are paying qualifying earnings, you still need to make employer contributions at the 3% minimum and deduct the employee's 5% where applicable. If pay drops to zero for a period, contributions may pause, but review your scheme rules and speak to your pension provider.
Employee wellbeing during a long trial
Most jury service lasts a few days. Complex fraud or criminal cases can run for weeks or months. This puts real pressure on employees and on your team covering for them.
Keep communication open — you can ask the employee to keep you updated on the expected duration (courts do give rough estimates) without pressuring them about the trial itself. It is unlawful for employees to discuss details of deliberations, so do not ask.
Plan cover early. If someone is likely to be away for three weeks or more, treating it like a short-term absence is a mistake. Think about temporary cover, workload redistribution or delaying non-urgent projects.
When the employee returns, a brief informal check-in is worthwhile. Jurors in serious cases sometimes find the experience distressing and may benefit from a supportive re-entry rather than being thrown straight back into a full workload.
Keeping your policies current
Many employment handbooks reference jury service and public duties in a few vague lines, or not at all. With the Employment Rights Act 2025 strengthening day-one rights, now is a reasonable moment to review your policies.
A clear policy should state whether you top up pay (and for how long), how employees should notify you of a summons, how you will manage cover, and how public duties requests should be raised and approved. Clarity protects both sides — employees know where they stand, and you have a consistent framework to apply fairly.
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