Crown immunity
[ch 3: page 60]Under the HSWA, Crown bodies must comply with health and safety law. However, the provisions of the Act that allow inspectors to prosecute employers for breaches of the law do not apply to Crown bodies. This is known as Crown immunity.
Crown bodies are organisations that act on behalf of the Queen. The PCS civil service union says it is increasingly difficult to come to a strict definition of what is meant by “the Crown”. The HSE looks at each particular case as it arises before finally deciding whether the employer is immune from prosecution.
The CMCHA 2007 largely removed Crown immunity for corporate manslaughter. However, it remains for health and safety offences. Unions whose members work for Crown bodies want the government to abolish Crown immunity completely.