I was asked to provide a letter from my employer - stating how much my wages would drop to release me for a period of 10 working court days (Monday-Friday for two weeks)
My TM wrote a letter for me - stating that I’d lose my Night Money, my Overtime - but I’d still receive my basic pay, meaning that in total I’d lose £226 per week for the two weeks.
The court then pays as an “Expense” that 2x£226 AND on top - whatever travel expenses that you submit receipts for, Eg. Bus/Train tickets, Fuel receipts, Car Park tickets.
No “Wages” are paid as such by the court.
You are only obliged to give the court ten days, and your employer is obliged to release you for this period, regardless of if they will pay you or not.
If the case allocated to you to “Hear” is then going to take rather longer than the 2 weeks legally obliged of you to attend as a Juror, then your employer may THEN refuse to release you further, and you’ll be sat in the waiting room at the court as a “StandBy” Juror that will sit on cases that are expected to last less than a week.
This is what happened to me, when I wasn’t released for a 3-week expected trial of a defendent charged with attempted murder.
On day three of the “Waiting Room”, I was allocated to a case expected to take 2-3 days.
It actually took four days, which took me into the middle of the second week.
I then spent the last two days of my obligated release from work (@ RM at the time) sitting in the waiting room.
You are advised to “take a good book in with you” for that purpose.
When I got paid the expenses total of around £587 (including my bus tickets) - I realized that I’d actually profited here, since I was effectively paid my gross pay “tax free” in that amount paid by the court to me.
I also paid less tax once back at work, as my wages had dipped for the two weeks in question.
I also, of course - got effectively paid for “nights” whilst on a “change of scenery” day job for the two weeks it lasted.
I was disappointed indeed that my employer would not release me for longer, as I was actually keen to sit on the jury of one of those meaty cases one hears about, that has high public interest, including would-be Fraud cases…
Self-Employed people tend to be very unkeen to sit in Juries, as they are deemed to have to cover the “expenses” of their release - from their normal tax-offsetting expenses, meaning that effectively they don’t get any money out of the system other than the basic out-of-pocket expenses, rather than the “Profit” of tax free money, which was what I received.
To refuse to cooperate with the court in ANY manner - might leave you open to a “Contempt of Court” charge, which carries a base hefty fine and/or a short spell in jail, should your objections to doing your public duty be considered to be “unlawful and contemptuous”.
You are asked in the Jury Summons Form
(1) Do you have any holidays booked - Yes/No. If you say “Yes”, and LATER book that time off - then that would count as “Jury Service Evasion” which was treated quite strictly when I did mine, on a par with “Tax Evasion”. I’d strongly suggest you do your bit for king and country, and don’t take the ■■■■ out of the system, because it’s “not convenient” or “Not my goverment!” or other such selfish tosh.
(2) How much time will your employer release you for, subject to a court-imposed minimum attendence requirement of 10 court working days (2 weeks)
You are only required to attend the court, and sit in the Jury Pool awaiting to be assigned a case to hear. You are not obliged to sit on even ONE single case during that 2 week stint.
(3) Your employer is asked if you are released for cases going on beyond the 2 week mandatory minimum attedence: If your employer declines (as mine did) then your last day in the “Jury Pool” reading your book - will be the Friday of the second week. If your employer releases you for longer, then your expenses will continue to be paid, and will of course be uplifted further IF your employer decides to say, release you for as long as it takes BUT put you on zero pay during… This is actually the best scenario of all, as you’d then be paid by the court a tax-free amount equal to your entire gross wage, including out of pocket overtime, night allowances, subsistances etc. which the court will ask you to provide payslips to prove you are losing the amount you are claiming for. This means that you’d have to wait for a zero pay slip (from week three starting, for instance…) to claim the maximum amount - leaving you a bit skint at the end of week three, whilst you wait the 3-5 days for that claim for the higher amount to be met by the court admin.
In my two week stint, I sat on a single case, where the lobby board stated that three defendents were indicted for “Violent Disorder”. Only one person was in the dock however, when I was selected to sit on that jury.
Cards with upto 18 Jury Pool names on them - are then shuffled, with 12 cards dealt representing that Jury to be then sworn in.
I think Defence get to object to a juror they didn’t want, and Prosecution counsel got to object to some as well.
Examples of this might be a Perp charged with a racist attack - might not want a “Juror of Colour” in the Jury about to try them. It seems absurd that, but there it is.
Prosecution council - might object to say, a Juror who is a political activist - sitting on a jury against the accused, who’s ALSO a political activist, who might be charged with say, climbing the dartford bridge…
The final selected 12 people - are then sworn in, and the other non-selected Jurors - go back to the “Jury Pool” waiting room, to resume whatever book they were reading.
It is said that no person is likely to ever be asked to perform TWO or more stints as a Juror.
Personally, I found the entire process quite absorbing, and would jump at the chance to do it again - providing I could obtain that all-important letter from my employer that states how much money you’ll be short in your pay by attending…
I hope to sit on a six-month+ Fraud case next time indeed! 
On my current zero hours countract, my PAYE employer would release me for the maximum, and I’d get zero pay, so would be able to CLAIM the maximum as well… Imagine beind paid your current, entire wage but “Tax Free” for the best part of the following year - and for attending “Days” to boot! 
You can side-step, and otherwise avoid Jury service altogether, but watch your step. If you take the ■■■■, you will likely be done for it!
Reasons that you can state for “not wishing to attend your public duty” - are listed on the form that comes with the original letter that informs you that you’ve been selected for Jury service, or at least that’s how it was when I did mine. “Any changes since” - I would imagine, lean towards “Wokeness” where perhaps it has been made rather EASIER than harder to get out of doing it altogether. Prove me wrong in thinking that, by all means!
