In the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth countries such as Canada, a crown servant is a "person employed by the Crown". Although the term is not consistently defined, generally all executive officials and their staffs, civil servants, police officers, judicial officials, and members of the armed forces are crown servants.
Crown servant vs civil servant
The terms civil servant 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 Ministers of the Crown and the judiciaries of the United Kingdom. However, members of the armed forces are nonetheless Crown servants.
Generally in Canada, unless specifically defined otherwise within a specific act, public servant refers to those working for "departments named in Schedule I to the Financial Administration Act, Canada and the other portions of the federal public administration named in Schedules II to V to that Act", and "does not include the Canadian Forces".
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 section 273 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992. 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 defines the expression "Crown servant" for the purposes of that Act. It now provides:
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 plcThe 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 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 AuthorityThe 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 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.
Prescribed offices, s.12(1)(g)
The following offices are now prescribed for the purposes of section 12(1)(g):
Comptroller and Auditor GeneralThe 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 Member of staff of the Northern Ireland Audit Office Auditor General for ScotlandThe Official Secrets Act 1989 (Prescription) Order 1990 (S.I. 1990/200), article 3 and the first column of Schedule 2 (as amended by the Scotland Act 1998 (Consequential Modifications) (No.1) Order 1999 (S.I. 1999/1042), article 3 and paragraph 18 of Schedule 1) Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration The Scottish Parliamentary Commissioner for AdministrationThe Official Secrets Act 1989 (Prescription) Order 1990 (S.I. 1990/200), article 3 and the first column of Schedule 2 (as read with article 17(8) of the Scotland Act 1998 (Transitory and Transitional Provisions) (Complaints of Maladministration) Order 1999 (S.I. 1999/1351) (in turn read with article 2(1) of the same)) Northern Ireland Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration Scottish Public Services OmbudsmanThe Official Secrets Act 1989 (Prescription) Order 1990 (S.I. 1990/200), article 3 and the first column of Schedule 2 (as amended by article 11(b) of the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman Act 2002 (Consequential Provisions and Modifications) Order 2004 (S.I. 2004/1823 (S.4)) 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 servantThe Official Secrets Act 1989 (Prescription) Order 1990 (S.I. 1990/200), article 3 and the second column of Schedule 2 (as repealed in part by the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman Act 2002 (Consequential Provisions and Modifications) Order 2004 (S.I. 2004/1823 (S.4))), article 11(a), and by the Public Services Ombudsman (Wales) Act 2005 (Transitional Provisions and Consequential Amendments) Order 2006 (S.I. 2006/362 (W.48)), article 3 and paragraph 1 of Schedule 2 The staff of the Scottish 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 (as read with article 17(8) of the Scotland Act 1998 (Transitory and Transitional Provisions) (Complaints of Maladministration) Order 1999 (S.I. 1999/1351) (in turn read with article 2(1) of the same)) 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))
See also Civil Service Crown act of state
References