Jury service

Q: Can an employee be dismissed because they have gone on jury service? A manager is putting a lot of pressure on one employee not to go.

A: Under section 98 of the Employment Rights Act 1996, it is automatically unfair to dismiss an employee for going on jury service unless the employer told them that their absence was likely to cause substantial injury to the employer’s undertaking and the employee unreasonably refused to apply to be excused from the service.