The term "Crown servant" is used to denote a "person employed by the Crown". Although the term is not consistently defined, generally speaking the term encompasses all executive officials and their staffs,

civil servants The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...

police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and ...

, judicial officials, and members of the

armed forces A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

. While the term is used in other Commonwealth countries such as Canada, it has the most predominant use and is the most well-defined with the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and Nor ...

Crown servant vs civil servant

The terms

civil servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leader ...

and Crown servant can coincide but are sometimes exclusive. It is suggested that the phrase "civil servant" may include every person who serves the Crown, with the exception of members of the

armed forces of the United Kingdom The British Armed Forces, also known as His Majesty's Armed Forces, are the military forces responsible for the defence of the United Kingdom, its Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies. They also promote the UK's wider interests, s ...

, the

Ministers of the Crown Minister of the Crown is a formal constitutional term used in Commonwealth realms to describe a minister of the reigning sovereign or viceroy. The term indicates that the minister serves at His Majesty's pleasure, and advises the sovereign or ...

and the

judiciaries of the United Kingdom The judiciaries of the United Kingdom are the separate judiciaries of the three legal systems in England and Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland. The judges of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, the Special Immigration Appeals Commission ...

. However, members of the armed forces are nonetheless Crown servants.

Employment rights

Crown servants serve "at the pleasure of the Crown", and do not therefore benefit from the protections normally available to employees by law. However, the majority of these protections are applied to them by the

Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 The Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992c 52 is a UK Act of Parliament which regulates United Kingdom labour law. The Act applies in full in England and Wales and in Scotland, and partially in Northern Ireland. The law cont ...

. For the purposes of the Act, "crown employment" means employment "under or for the purposes of a government department or any officer or body exercising on behalf of the Crown functions conferred by an enactment", though members of the armed forces are excluded from this provision, and the government has the ability to exclude other Crown servants "for the purpose of safeguarding national security".

Official Secrets Act 1989

Section 12(1) of the

Official Secrets Act 1989 The Official Secrets Act 1989 (c. 6) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that repeals and replaces section 2 of the Official Secrets Act 1911, thereby removing the public interest defence created by that section. Lord Bingham ...

defines the expression "Crown servant" for the purposes of that Act. It now provides: Paragraph (aa) was inserted on 6 May 1999 by section 125 of, an
paragraph 26(2)
of the Schedule to, the

Scotland Act 1998 The Scotland Act 1998 (c. 46) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which legislated for the establishment of the devolved Scottish Parliament with tax varying powers and the Scottish Government (then Scottish Executive). It was on ...

. Paragraph (ab) was inserted b
paragraph 34
of Schedule 10 to the

Government of Wales Act 2006 The Government of Wales Act 2006 (c 32) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed the then-National Assembly for Wales (now the Senedd) and allows further powers to be granted to it more easily. The Act creates a system o ...

. This provision came into force immediately after the 2007 election by virtue o
section 161(1)
of that Act (subject to section 161(4) and (5), which provide that so far as it relates to functions of the Welsh Ministers, the First Minister, the Counsel General or the Assembly Commission, it came into force immediately after the end of "the initial period"). Paragraph (b) referred to a person appointed under section 8 of the

Northern Ireland Constitution Act 1973 The Northern Ireland Constitution Act 1973 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which received the royal assent on 18 July 1973. The Act abolished the suspended Parliament of Northern Ireland and the post of Governor and made pro ...

(which related to the

Northern Ireland Executive The Northern Ireland Executive is the devolved government of Northern Ireland, an administrative branch of the legislature – the Northern Ireland Assembly. It is answerable to the assembly and was initially established according to the term ...

and other things). It was repealed on 2 December 1999 by section
99
an
100(2)
of, an
paragraph 9
of Schedule 13 to, an
Schedule 15
to, the

Northern Ireland Act 1998 __NOTOC__ The Northern Ireland Act 1998 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which allowed Westminster to devolve power to Northern Ireland, after decades of direct rule. It renamed the New Northern Ireland Assembly, established b ...

, subject to savings i
section 95
of that Act. The words "Part IX of the

Reserve Forces Act 1996 {{Unreferenced, date=January 2022 The Reserve Forces Act 1996 is a piece of British legislation that provides for the maintenance and composition of the British military's Reserve Forces. Provisions of the Act to make ''"An Act to make provisi ...

" in paragraph (c) were substituted for the words "the Reserve Forces Act 1980" on 1 April 1997 by section 131(1) of, an
paragraph 22
of Schedule 10 to, the Reserve Forces Act 1996, subject t
section 72(5)
of that Act. The words in the first set of square brackets in paragraph (e) were substituted for the words "(including a police force within the meaning of the Police Act (Northern Ireland) 1970)" on 4 November 2001, by section 74 of, an
paragraph 9
of Schedule 6 to, the

Police (Northern Ireland) Act 2000 The Police (Northern Ireland) Act 2000 (c 32) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The act renamed the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) to the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI). It also created the Northern Ireland Policing ...

. The words in the second set of square brackets in that paragraph were substituted for the words "or of the

National Criminal Intelligence Service The National Criminal Intelligence Service (NCIS) was a United Kingdom policing agency. Following the Police and Criminal Justice Act 2001, NCIS returned to direct funding by the Home Office in 2002 and was a non-departmental public body. On 1 A ...

or the

National Crime Squad The National Crime Squad (NCS) was a British police organisation which dealt with national and transnational organised and major crimes. Formed in April 1998 after the amalgamation of six former Regional Crime Squads, it merged with parts of ...

" on 1 April 2006 by section 59 of, an
paragraph 58
of Schedule 4 to, the

Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 The Serious Organized Crime and Police Act 2005 (c.15) (often abbreviated to SOCPA or SOCAP) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom aimed primarily at creating the Serious Organised Crime Agency. It also significantly extended and si ...

. The words "or of the

or the

" had been inserted on 1 April 1998, by section 134(1) of, an
paragraph 62
of Schedule 9 to the

Police Act 1997 The Police Act 1997 is a United Kingdom Act of Parliament passed on 21 March 1997. Its main purposes are: *to make provision for the National Criminal Intelligence Service (NCIS) and the National Crime Squad; *to make provision about entry onto, ...

. "Prescribed", ss.12(1)(f) & (g) This expression is defined by section 13(1) to mean prescribed by an order made by the Secretary of State. The procedure for making orders under the Act is provided by section 14. "Secretary of State" is defined by the

Interpretation Act 1978 The Interpretation Act 1978 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The Act makes provision for the interpretation of Acts of Parliament, Measures of the General Synod of the Church of England, Measures of the Church Assembly, subord ...

to mean one of His Majesty's Principal Secretaries of State. Prescribed classes of employees or members of prescribed bodies or classes of bodies, s. 12(1)(f) The following have been prescribed for the purposes of section 12(1)(f): *The employees of

British Nuclear Fuels plc Great British Nuclear, officially British Nuclear Fuels Ltd is a nuclear energy and fuels company owned by the UK Government. It is a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. From its creati ...

The Official Secrets Act 1989 (Prescription) Order 1990 (S.I. 1990/200), article 2 and Schedule 1 *The members of the Board of that Company *The members, officers and employees of the

United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority The United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority is a UK government research organisation responsible for the development of fusion energy. It is an executive non-departmental public body of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy ( ...

*The employees of Urenco Limited *The members of the Board of that Company. *The employees of Urenco (Capenhurst) LimitedThe Official Secrets Act 1989 (Prescription) Order 1990 (S.I. 1990/200), article 2 and Schedule 1 (as amended by the Official Secrets Act 1989 (Prescription) (Amendment) Order 1993 (S.I. 1993/847), article 2 and Schedule) *The members of the Board of that Company *The employees of Enrichment Technology Company LimitedThe Official Secrets Act 1989 (Prescription) Order 1990 (S.I. 1990/200), article 2 and Schedule 1 (as amended by the Official Secrets Act 1989 (Prescription) (Amendment) Order 2003 (S.I. 2003/1918), article 2(2) and Schedule 1) *The members of the Board of that Company *The employees of Enrichment Technology UK Limited *The members of the Board of that Company *The employees of Urenco Enrichment Company Limited *The members of the Board of that Company *The members and employees the

Nuclear Decommissioning Authority The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) is a non-departmental public body of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, formed by the Energy Act 2004. It evolved from the Coal and Nuclear Liabilities Unit of the Department o ...

The Official Secrets Act 1989 (Prescription) Order 1990 (S.I. 1990/200), article 2 and Schedule 1 (as amended by the Official Secrets Act 1989 (Prescription) (Amendment) Order 2007, article 2(4) *The employees of any subsidiary of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority. For this purpose, "subsidiary" has the same meaning as in the

Companies Act 1985 The Companies Act 1985 (c. 6) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, enacted in 1985, which enabled companies to be formed by registration, and set out the responsibilities of companies, their ...

.The Official Secrets Act 1989 (Prescription) Order 1990 (S.I. 1990/200), article 2A (inserted by the Official Secrets Act 1989 (Prescription) (Amendment) Order 2007, article 2(3) *The members of the Board of any subsidiary of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority. Again, "subsidiary" has the same meaning. *The members and employees of the

Independent Police Complaints Commission The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) was a non-departmental public body in England and Wales responsible for overseeing the system for handling complaints made against police forces in England and Wales. On 8 January 2018, th ...

. Prescribed offices, s.12(1)(g) The following offices are now prescribed for the purposes of section 12(1)(g): *

Comptroller and Auditor General An auditor general, also known in some countries as a comptroller general or comptroller and auditor general, is a senior civil servant charged with improving government accountability by auditing and reporting on the government's operations. Fre ...

The Official Secrets Act 1989 (Prescription) Order 1990 (S.I. 1990/200), article 3 and the first column of Schedule 2 *Member of staff of the National Audit Office *

Comptroller and Auditor General for Northern Ireland The Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG) in the United Kingdom is the government official responsible for supervising the quality of public accounting and financial reporting. The C&AG is an officer of the House of Commons who is the head of th ...

*Member of staff of the Northern Ireland Audit Office *

Auditor General for Scotland The Auditor General for Scotland (AGS) is the public official in charge of the Audit Scotland, the body responsible for auditing most of Scotland's public bodies, except local authorities. The Auditor General oversees the scrutiny of how publi ...

Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) comprises the offices of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration (PCA) and the Health Service Commissioner for England (HSC). The Ombudsman is responsible for considering complaints ...

*The Scottish Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration * Northern Ireland Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration *

Scottish Public Services Ombudsman The Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO) is the organisation that handles complaints about public services in Scotland. The Ombudsman service is independent of government and with a duty to act impartially. The SPSO is responsible for lookin ...

*A private secretary to the Sovereign Prescribed classes of employees of holders of prescribed offices, s. 12(1)(g) The following classes of employees of holders of the prescribed offices above are now prescribed for the purposes of section 12(1)(g): *The officers of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration who are not otherwise Crown servantsThe Official Secrets Act 1989 (Prescription) Order 1990 (S.I. 1990/200), article 3 and the second column of Schedule 2 *Officer of the Health Service Commissioner for England being an officer who is authorised by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration to perform any of his functions and who is not otherwise a Crown servant *The staff of the Scottish Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration who are not otherwise Crown servants *The officers of the Northern Ireland Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration who are not otherwise Crown servants *The officers of the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman who are not otherwise Crown servantsThe Official Secrets Act 1989 (Prescription) Order 1990 (S.I. 1990/200), article 3 and the second column of Schedule 2 (as amended by article 11(c) of the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman Act 2002 (Consequential Provisions and Modifications) Order 2004 (S.I. 2004/1823 (S.4))

References

{{Civil service Public administration

Crown servant vs civil servant

Employment rights

Official Secrets Act 1989

See also

References