Crown immunity

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.

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. 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.

In April 2022, the HSE issued the MoD defence ministry with a Crown Censure after an employee was shot during a training exercise. In January 2019, an MoD employee suffered severe injuries as a result of being shot with live ammunition during a training exercise where blank ammunition should have been used, putting employees and persons not in the employment of the MoD, at risk. By accepting the Crown Censure, the MoD admitted breaching its duty under Section 2(1) and Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act.