Company of Errors: When HSE Forgot Police Scotland Was a Public Service.

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It’s not often a statutory watchdog gaslights a complainant by misclassifying Scotland’s national police force — but that’s exactly what the Health and Safety Executive (HSE did in its reply to PC K Reid).

Faced with documented failures by Police Scotland — ranging from ignored medical accommodations to unreported fitness hazards — HSE blinked. And in doing so, it described Police Scotland not as a statutory public body, but a “company.” That’s not just bureaucratic sloppiness — it’s a distortion of duty.

⚖️ Why Terminology Matters

Police Scotland is governed by the Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012. It isn’t a limited company. It doesn’t operate under shareholder governance. It serves the public, and when it breaches statutory health protocols, it answers to public law, not corporate PR.

Calling it a “company” isn’t a typo. It’s a lens through which HSE has tried to duck its obligations:

• Redirecting stress-related hazards to ACAS (as if Kevin’s beta-blocker exams were an HR spat, not a health risk).

• Framing medical negligence as “employment relations.”

• Refusing to investigate unless there's “systemic evidence” — ignoring the very real danger of fitness testing under compromised health, even when precedents like DC Quamar Zaman’s death exist.

🚨 The Consequence of Error

This isn’t just about semantics. When public services masquerade as private enterprises, they escape scrutiny. They reframe statutory breach as “internal matters,” divert oversight, and institutional silence becomes policy.

Kevin's case isn’t an outlier. It’s symptomatic:

• A GP-recommended phased return was ignored.

• Exams were forced under medication.

• Bleep test hazards were dismissed despite clear risk. And Police Scotland didn’t log any of it under RIDDOR.

🧱 Building the Scroll

This blog marks the beginning of a wider reframing of HSE, which necessitates a formal reclassification of Police Scotland.

• Procedural negligence must be judged under public duty standards, not corporate loopholes.

• Every deflection now forms part of the evidence trail.

If statutory bodies can forget who they regulate, it's up to us to remind them — loudly, publicly, and with reform in hand.