Jury service pay and loss of earnings: what you can claim
You are not paid for jury service, but you can claim up to £64.95 a day for lost earnings (£129.91 from day 11), plus food and travel.
You are not paid for jury service. Your employer does not have to pay you either, though many do. If you lose earnings, you can claim them back from the court up to a daily limit: £64.95 a day for the first 10 days when you spend more than 4 hours at court (£32.47 for 4 hours or less), rising to £129.91 a day if your service lasts longer than 10 working days. Food and drink and travel are paid on top (gov.uk). These are the England and Wales rules; Scotland and Northern Ireland are covered at the end.
Enter your figures and press Work out.
The daily limits
The court pays allowances, not wages. The Juries Act 1974 s.19 entitles a juror to allowances for travel and subsistence, and for financial loss where they have "suffered any loss of earnings" or incurred extra costs, at rates the Lord Chancellor sets. gov.uk publishes these rates for England and Wales (what you can claim):
| Time at court that day | First 10 days | Service longer than 10 working days |
|---|---|---|
| More than 4 hours | £64.95 | £129.91 |
| 4 hours or less | £32.47 | £64.95 |
- It is a limit, not a flat payment. You get what you actually lose, up to the cap. Lost earnings and extra care or childcare share the one daily limit. The day-11 rate applies only to the days after the first 10; it does not go back and raise the first 10. The HMCTS claim forms put it the same way: "up to £64.95 per day for loss of earnings during the first 10 days of jury service" (form 5223D).
- A normal court day is a full day. Jurors usually need to be at court from 10am to 5:30pm, Monday to Friday, so most days count as more than 4 hours (gov.uk: how jury service works). Exactly 4 hours is "4 hours or less".
- Food and drink: up to £5.71 a day for up to and including 10 hours at court, £12.17 for over 10 hours.
- Travel: bus, underground and train at the cost of the ticket (standard class return for trains); car 31.4p a mile; motorcycle 31.4p a mile; bicycle 9.6p a mile; 4.2p a mile for one other juror carried as a passenger and 3.2p a mile for each additional passenger; a taxi only with the court's permission. Check whether the court will pay for parking. Only travel inside England and Wales counts, and accommodation is not paid.
- Weekends and bank holidays are not paid: the court is closed, and the HMCTS claim forms say so.
- Very long trials. gov.uk publishes only the two tiers above. The HMCTS claim forms say: "For longer trials, check the rates on the allowances sheet or at www.gov.uk/jury-service." If your trial is expected to be long, ask the jury manager for that sheet. The calculator above stops at 200 days.
Does my employer have to pay me?
No. "You do not have to pay staff while they're doing jury service, but many employers do," is gov.uk's guidance to employers (giving staff time off for jury service). Check your contract or staff handbook: as the next point explains, the law treats pay your contract promises differently from pay it does not.
- Time off. Your employer must let you go. If your absence would seriously harm the business, it can ask you to delay, and must give you a letter explaining why.
- No detriment. Under the Employment Rights Act 1996 s.43M an employee has the right not to be subjected to a detriment because they were summoned or were absent for jury service. Subsection (3) is the catch: not paying you for the time away is not a detriment unless your contract entitles you to that pay. If you are refused time off you can complain to an employment tribunal.
- Dismissal. Under s.98B dismissal because you were summoned or attended is automatically unfair, and no minimum length of employment is needed to claim (s.108(3)(aa)). There is one exception: the employer shows your absence was likely to cause substantial injury to the business, told you so, and you unreasonably refused or failed to apply for excusal or deferral.
- If your employer does not pay you, it fills in its section of form 5223D, the loss of earnings certificate: your take-home pay for each working day over a typical two weeks, "after income tax, National Insurance and all other deductions". Bring it to court on your first day (HMCTS form 5223D).
- If your employer tops you up, gov.uk tells it to subtract the court allowance from your usual take-home pay and pay the difference grossed up through payroll, with tax and NI deducted. Pay it continues to give you goes through payroll in the normal way, so it appears on your payslip as usual.
Self-employed and company directors
The daily limits are the same. You claim on form 5223F, which asks for your gross daily pay before deductions and the days you normally work, and you must attach one of (HMCTS form 5223F):
- your most recent tax return, showing the annual income you used and how you worked out the daily figure;
- a letter from your accountant confirming your average daily gross earnings, plus HMRC evidence of your Unique Taxpayer Reference and self-employed registration; or
- a letter from a business that would have given you the work, confirming the gross daily rate, plus the same HMRC evidence.
A paid company director attaches either their most recent tax return, or an accountant's letter plus HMRC evidence showing their UTR and that they are registered as a paid company director. The form says dividends are usually not affected by jury service; if yours are, you need documentary evidence and an accountant's letter, and the accountant's fee is not reimbursed. Newly self-employed with none of these documents? Speak to the jury manager. If the dates are bad for your business, you can ask to change them (below). Not sure which category you are in? See our employee, worker or self-employed guide.
Is the court payment taxed?
- Employees: no Income Tax on a payment that only compensates for lost employment income. ITTOIA 2005 s.782C exempts it, as long as it does not exceed the take-home pay you lost; "services" there expressly includes services as a juror (see also EIM01120). That is why the employer certificate asks for net pay.
- No National Insurance on it: HMRC treats the payment as compensatory, because a juror is not in a paid office or employment (NIM02220).
- Self-employed: taxable. The payment fills "a hole in the profits" and is a taxable receipt of the business. A day subsistence allowance is not (BIM40475). Form 5223F says: "If you receive a loss of earnings payment from us, you must declare it as income on your tax return."
- National Insurance credits. If your earnings from employment in a week you attended court were below the Lower Earnings Limit (or nil), you can claim a Class 1 credit for that week. It is not automatic: you claim in writing to HMRC by the end of the calendar year after the tax year the week fell in. The self-employed cannot get this credit (Social Security (Credits) Regulations 1975 reg 9B; NIM41230).
To see what your normal pay comes to after tax and NI (the figure your employer certifies), use the salary calculator.
Worked examples
Employee, unpaid by employer, 10 days
Take-home pay of £110 a day, full court days, a £6 return bus fare. The court pays £64.95 a day for loss of earnings (£649.50), £57.10 food and £60.00 travel: £766.60 in total. The cap leaves £450.50 of lost pay uncovered, which the employer does not have to make up.
Self-employed, 15-day trial
Gross earnings of £200 a day and a 24-mile round trip by car. Days 1 to 10 pay £649.50 (10 × £64.95); days 11 to 15 pay £649.55 (5 × £129.91). With £85.65 food and £113.10 mileage, the claim is £1,497.80. The loss-of-earnings part is a taxable business receipt.
Not working, paying for extra childcare
A parent with no earnings pays a registered childminder £45 a day for care they would not otherwise need. That is under the £64.95 limit, so all of it is claimable: £450.00 over 10 days, plus food and travel. The childminder writes their Ofsted number on the care expenses form (5223B).
Each figure is computed by the calculator above. Estimates only.
How to claim, delay or be excused
- When to claim. At the end of your jury service, and no more than 12 months after it started. You are usually paid 7 to 10 working days after you submit the claim; for a long trial or financial hardship, the court may pay during the trial (gov.uk: how to claim expenses).
- Which form. Food, drink and travel: the claim form you are given at the start, with receipts. Employee loss of earnings: 5223D. Self-employed or director: 5223F. Care and childcare: 5223B, filled in by you and the carer, with your child's birth certificate or passport and invoices or receipts.
- On benefits. Show your summons to your benefit office or work coach. Benefits such as Universal Credit continue for the first 8 weeks; after that, the court gives you a loss of benefits form (5223C).
- Who can serve. You must be 18 to 75 on the day you start, registered to vote, and have lived in the UK, Channel Islands or Isle of Man for at least 5 years without any gaps since age 13 (gov.uk; Juries Act 1974 s.1). Even if you are disqualified, you must reply to the summons within 7 days.
- Changing the date. Once only, to a date within the next 12 months, with a good reason such as an operation, an exam, a booked holiday, being a new parent, or your employer not giving you time off. You can suggest 3 dates.
- Being excused. Only in exceptional circumstances (for example serious illness, being a full-time carer, or living outside England or Wales), or if you have done jury service in the last 2 years. You can appeal a refusal to the Jury Central Summoning Bureau (gov.uk).
- Ignoring the summons. You can be fined up to £1,000 if you do not return the form or turn up (gov.uk).
Scotland and Northern Ireland
Everything above is for England and Wales. gov.uk says there are different rules for jury service in Scotland and in Northern Ireland, so do not rely on the figures and forms on this page there. See the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service jurors pages and nidirect's claiming juror allowances. The protections in ERA 1996 s.43M and s.98B name summonses under the Juries Act 1974, Part 1 of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009, the Court of Session Act 1988 and the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995, so they cover a Scottish jury summons too.
Frequently asked questions
Do you get paid for jury service in England and Wales?
No. Jury service is not paid, but you can claim back lost earnings and extra care costs up to a daily limit (£64.95 a day for the first 10 days if you spend more than 4 hours at court), plus food and drink and the cost of travel.
Does my employer have to pay me while I am on jury service?
No. gov.uk says employers do not have to pay staff on jury service, though many do. Your employer must give you the time off, but can ask you to delay once if your absence would seriously harm the business. Except in limited circumstances, it cannot dismiss you or treat you badly because you were summoned. Not paying you is not a detriment unless your contract says you are paid during jury service.
How much loss of earnings can I claim for jury service?
For the first 10 days: up to £64.95 a day if you spend more than 4 hours at court, or £32.47 for 4 hours or less. If your service lasts longer than 10 working days, the limit rises to £129.91 a day (more than 4 hours) or £64.95 (4 hours or less). The same limit also covers extra childcare or care costs.
What can I claim for jury service if I am self-employed?
The same daily limits as an employee. Use form 5223F and attach evidence such as your most recent tax return showing how you worked out your gross daily earnings, or a letter from your accountant with HMRC proof of your UTR. You must declare the payment on your tax return.
Is jury service loss of earnings taxable?
For an employee, a payment that only replaces lost take-home pay is exempt from Income Tax (ITTOIA 2005 s.782C), and HMRC says it is not liable to National Insurance. For the self-employed it is a taxable business receipt, and the HMCTS claim form says to declare it on your tax return.
Can I get out of jury service because of work?
You can ask to change the date once, to another date within 12 months, for example if your employer will not give you time off. Being excused altogether is only for exceptional circumstances, or if you have done jury service in the last 2 years.