Employers are required to pay employees for the first ten days of jury service under the Fair Work Act 2009 launch.
Full-time and part-time employees have to be paid 'make-up pay' for the first 10 days of jury selection and jury duty.
Juror attendance fees, as at 1 July 2022
For example, for a trial of more than 10 days ($151 in Item 4) plus half that amount ($75.50), remuneration will be $226.50.
You can request to be excused from jury service for any of the following reasons: your health. undue hardship, financial or otherwise, to you, or to another person, if you are not excused. your recent service on a jury in any jurisdiction in Australia.
You will be paid as normal while serving as a juror. You will need to claim for loss of earnings if the case is expected to extend beyond 4 weeks.
However, the employee can continue to be paid as normal. If this is the case, the employer cannot reclaim money paid to the employee or that the business has lost during the jury service. If an employer does not pay their employee, then they can claim a loss of earnings allowance from the court.
Employers must allow an employee time off for jury service, although employees can ask for a delay if it will harm the business, but can only delay once in a 12-month period. Jury service in most cases is an average of ten working days but may be longer or shorter depending on the case.
Jury service usually lasts up to 10 working days. If the trial is likely to last longer than 10 days, you will be notified of this by jury staff. If the trial is shorter than 10 days, you may be asked to be a juror on other trials.
Though you may worry about taking time away from work or being away from your kids, you can get out of jury duty. Physical and mental disabilities, family issues and personal opinions are some of the reasons people are excused from jury duty.
But you should always follow these government guidelines: “Jurors should not be made to work night shifts before they are due in court, or work weekends if this means they do not have a break from either jury duty or their job for seven days.”
To calculate the daily net pay amount, you can process the payroll as normal then divide the net pay by the number of working days. You can ask your employee to delay their jury service if their absence would seriously harm your business, but they will need a letter from you explaining why.
The MoJ says that if you are called within two years of the last time you served you have an automatic right to be excused. Smith's latest summons is almost exactly two years after his last. Numerous theories abound on the internet as to why some people are called to serve and others not.
Choosing the jury
The court uses numbers not names when selecting jurors. At the start of the trial, the court clerk randomly selects jury panel numbers. If they call your panel number, reply “yes” and go to the jury box in the courtroom. Court security staff will guide you.
You can ask to be excused from jury service if you're over 70 years old.
When you are summoned for jury service, you will be asked to complete a summons form and this lists the types of convictions that have to be declared before you can serve on a jury. You will have to say if you have ever been sentenced to life imprisonment, or to imprisonment or youth custody for five years or more.
Loss of earnings can be claimed for when you have been absent from your work as a result of an accident that wasn't your fault. You may be able to work after your accident, but perhaps you can only work shorter shifts as a result of your injuries.
The simple answer, and the one you probably weren't hoping to hear, is yes – jury service is a public duty, and you must serve unless disqualified or excused by the judge. The good news is that the courts know that jury service can create problems for you in your professional and personal lives.
You're not paid to undertake jury service though you can claim expenses for food, drink, travel and in some cases, the court may arrange accommodation for you if you're asked to stay overnight. It's up to your employer whether or not they pay you during your jury service.
On the first day of jury service
When you arrive at court, you will be: directed to the jury assembly area or courtroom. introduced to a court official who will be available to deal with any queries you have. shown a jury information video and be able to ask any questions you may have.
An employer can't insist that holiday is used for jury service, but they must give members of staff time off to complete the jury service.
Deferring jury service
You could have your jury service deferred, but you would need to show good reason, for example you have a holiday booked. You would have to show the court some proof of your reason.
There is no limit to the number of times that you may serve in a lifetime. However, you are only obligated to serve jury duty once every 12 months. Jurors who are selected and sworn as trial jurors or alternates will be excused from serving again for 36 months, upon request.
The possibility of a juror having anxiety/panic attacks or a complaint like agoraphobia is something that courts would not want to risk as it would mean the expense of a case being abandoned and re-tried if the person was unable to continue. This is probably your safest excuse to avoid jury duty.
If the jury fails to reach either a unanimous or majority verdict after a reasonable time, the presiding judge may declare a hung jury, and a new panel of jurors will be selected for a retrial.