Would you be happy to do Jury Service?

An official-looking envelope inviting you to attend jury service lands on your doormat. What would be your initial reaction? 

If you get a jury summons in the post, you must respond within 7 days and confirm if you can attend.

Your name would have been chosen randomly from the electoral register to be part of a jury of 12 people to decide the outcome of a criminal trial.

Jury service usually lasts up to 10 working days and usually, you would need to be at court from 10am to 5.30pm Monday to Friday.

You would not be paid for doing jury service, but you can claim some money back if you lose earnings. You can also claim some expenses, for example, travel.

If you are employed your employer must let you have time off work for attending jury service but is not obliged to pay you, although many employers do.

You may be exempt from doing jury service if you have a serious illness or disability, you are a full-time carer of someone with an illness or disability or you are a new parent and would not be able to serve at any other time in the next 12 months.

A juror must be aged between 18 and 70 years.

Would you be happy to do Jury Service or would the logistics of getting to and spending 2 weeks in a courtroom send you into a panic? How would you cope financially? Or perhaps you would look forward to it and relish the idea of doing your bit as a British citizen?