New figures show more people are asking to be excused from jury duty on grounds that serving would be a financial hardship.
Figures released to Radio New Zealand show 4734 people were excused from jury service because of financial reasons last year: an increase of 40% on 2007 and 64% more than 2005 .
Barrister Steve Bonnar says the problem is more significant with longer trials.
He says there's a danger that an increase in people not being able to spare the time to take part in a longer trial could result in a jury that's not representative of the community.
The Employers & Manufacturers' Association wants the amount paid for jury service to be increased.
Chief executive Alasdair Thompson, says the amount paid to a person on jury service is generally much less than they would be paid if they were at work.
He says an employer either has to make up the difference or an employee has to forego the income.
