While I was on holiday I was a witness to an accident. I’ve now been summonsed to appear in court, which will mean a lot of travelling. Will I get paid for this? I don’t want to be out of pocket for doing my duty as a citizen.
The rules of court require them to give you what is known as “conduct” money. Since it doesn’t appear to have been offered, you should ‘phone the solicitor who issued the summons and ask for it. Whilst you’re on the ‘phone, ask if you can be allowed to attend at a particular time. If it’s inevitable that there’s going to be an overnight stay, ask for it to be paid in advance. If you can’t make satisfactory arrangements along these lines you should see a solicitor of your own.