Claiming juror allowances
If you have been summoned to jury service, you can claim allowances for travel, meals or financial loss over the time you had to be at court. You get a claim form with your jury summons. You must send your claim within 14 days of doing jury service.
How to claim
You will need to download the Jury Expense Form. If you are unable to access the form online, or if you would prefer a hard-copy form, you can ask the court you are attending for a copy.
You can claim:
- daily travelling allowance – for the return journey directly from your home or workplace to the correct court
- meal allowance, if you are away from your home or place of work for more than five hours - refreshments and lunch are not provided
- financial loss allowance – for loss of earnings, benefits or expenses up to a maximum amount
You have 14 days from the date your jury service ends to complete the claim form and return it, along with all your receipts. You can do this by:
- email to jurorexpenses@courtsni.gov.uk
- post to the Northern Ireland Courts and Tribunals Customer Service Centre
A juror will not be given any expenses without proof of any receipts which should be sent, along with the expense form, by post or email to jurorexpenses@courtsni.gov.uk.
If you are sending receipts or other information separately to your claim form, you should make sure to provide your name, juror number and confirmation of the court attended so that your proof can be linked to your claim.
Things to remember
You must sign and date the declaration on the expense form.
Payment will be made to you once a correctly-completed form is checked. You will need to complete your bank details on the form to allow payment directly to your bank account or a cheque will be sent by post.
Confirmation of the payment made will be sent to you by post.
Daily travel allowance
You can claim the cost of the return journey directly from your home or workplace to the correct court. You must keep all bus, train and car parking receipts and return them with your claim form.
If you are driving to and from court, you claim for mileage costs. This is paid at the set mileage rate of £0.257 a mile.
Taxis
A taxi is only allowed:
- in cases of an emergency
- where public transport is not available
- where it is cheaper than public transport
You must get permission from the Juries Officer before you hire a taxi to take you to court or you will not be given taxi expenses.
Meal allowance
You can claim for a meal allowance if you are away from your home of place of work for five hours, as the court does not provide refreshments.
If you need to claim for a meal allowance, you must provide receipts. You can only claim for the amount you spend, up to the maximum of the allowance.
The maximum allowance will depend on how long you were at court.
| Hours away from home or place of work | maximum allowance per day |
|---|---|
| less than five hours | No allowance |
| more than five hours but less than 10 hours | £5.71 |
| longer than 10 hours | £12.17 |
Financial loss
You can claim for financial loss, including loss of earnings, but there is a limit to what you can be paid. Financial loss can include:
- loss of earnings
- childcare
- National Insurance contributions
- pension contributions
- Information for employers of jurors - Financial Loss
If you are losing more than the maximum allowance, the difference cannot be paid by the court.
What you can claim will depend on:
- how long you are in court each day
- how many hours of employment you have missed
- how many days you need to be at court
Part payments will be made based on these.
| Days in court | hours each day | maximum allowance a day |
|---|---|---|
| first 10 days | less than four hours | £32.47 |
| first 10 days | more than four hours | £64.95 |
| 11 days onwards | less than four hours | £64.95 |
| 11 days onwards | more than four hours | £129.91 |
If you are claiming financial loss, make sure your employer completes the employer’s certificate found on the employer's certificate.
If you are self-employed, some evidence of your financial loss, such as an accountant’s letter or self-assessment tax return, should be sent with your claim.
Childcare costs
Childcare costs are allowed as financial loss. If you claim for childcare costs as well as loss of earnings, benefits or expenses, the total amount you can be paid cannot be more than the maximum allowance.
You must provide proof of your childcare costs, for example a letter from your childminder confirming their fees and the dates on when they looked after your children.
If a claim is made for childcare costs, as well as a claim for loss of earnings or benefits, the total payment cannot be more than the maximum allowance which is outlined above in the table in the financial loss section.
Childcare costs cannot be claimed on top of your expenses if they exceed the maximum daily allowance for financial loss. You can only claim for one or the other.