"Self-employed people shouldn't be made to do it": Hairdresser slams payments for jury service

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

A self-employed hairdresser who was 'forced' to take two weeks off work when she did jury service says she only received £49 a day in payments to make up her income.

Karen Billington received her first letter from Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunal Service last year, informing her that she had been randomly selected to take part in jury service. The 39-year-old, who lives in Helmshore, decided to defer her duty because of her work.

However, at the end of last year Karen received another letter, telling her that her deferred jury service was due to start on January 17 and last two weeks. Out of the 10 days she was required to attend Preston Crown Court the jury sat for just three days but because of the nature of Karen's work she was unable to book any work in for the days evidence wasn't heard.

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"It was an absolute joke," Karen told LancsLive. "I did three days out of 10 and they weren't proper days because a lot of it was just sitting around to then get sent home."

Because Karen, who runs the Reflektion salon in Albion Street, Blackburn, was led to believe she would be in court for the full two weeks she was unable to allow any customers to book appointments. Self-employed jurors are able to claim £64.95 a day to cover loss of income, with expenses and petrol costs on top, and in total Karen received £490.

This means that, on average across 10 days, Karen was paid £49 a day which is far less than what she would have earned had she been working. She also feared losing regular customers who were unable to make appointments.

She added: "I didn’t get paid for the days I didn’t go in. It was a complete waste of time. I