Your Asbestos Survey Results Mean Nothing If You Don’t Communicate Them Properly
Getting an asbestos survey done is only half the job. What happens next — how you share those asbestos survey results, with whom, and how clearly — determines whether your workplace is genuinely protected or simply ticking a box.
Poor communication of survey findings is one of the most common failures we see across the industry. Managers receive reports they don’t fully understand. Employees aren’t told anything at all. The asbestos register gets filed away and forgotten. None of that is acceptable — legally or morally.
Why Sharing Asbestos Survey Results Properly Is a Legal Requirement
Your Duties Under the Control of Asbestos Regulations
The Control of Asbestos Regulations place a duty on those responsible for non-domestic premises to manage asbestos — and that management duty explicitly includes communicating findings to anyone who may be affected by them. That means employees, contractors, maintenance staff, and anyone else who works in or around the building.
The Health and Safety at Work etc Act also requires employers to provide employees with information about risks to their health and safety. Asbestos is one of the most serious of those risks. Silence is not a legal option.
Failure to communicate findings properly can expose your organisation to enforcement action by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), substantial fines, and — in cases of negligence — personal liability for duty holders.
The Health Stakes Are Very Real
Asbestos is the single largest cause of work-related deaths in the UK. Diseases including mesothelioma, asbestos-related lung cancer, and asbestosis can take decades to develop after exposure — meaning workers exposed today may not see the consequences for 20 or 30 years.
That long latency period is precisely why proactive, clear communication matters. Workers need to understand what’s present in their building, where it is, what condition it’s in, and what behaviour is expected of them — before any disturbance occurs, not after.
Before You Brief Anyone: Understand the Report Yourself
Before sharing findings with anyone else, the responsible person or asbestos manager needs to genuinely understand the survey report — not just forward it on. Communicating misunderstood information is worse than communicating nothing.
What a Professional Asbestos Survey Report Contains
A professionally conducted asbestos survey report will typically include:
- A full asbestos register — listing every identified or presumed asbestos-containing material (ACM) in the building, with location, material type, extent, and condition
- Risk assessments for each ACM — scored according to condition, accessibility, and likelihood of disturbance
- Sample analysis results — confirming the presence and type of asbestos, such as chrysotile, amosite, or crocidolite. If you need to arrange additional testing, sample analysis can be ordered separately to confirm the composition of suspect materials
- Recommendations — whether each ACM should be managed in situ, repaired, encapsulated, or removed
- Priority actions — highlighting materials that require urgent attention
Read this carefully. If anything is unclear — the risk scoring, the recommended actions, the scope of the survey — contact your surveying company for clarification before briefing anyone else.
Identify Your Key Messages Before You Communicate
Not everyone needs every detail in the full report. Before communicating, identify:
- Which areas of the building are affected
- Which ACMs are high priority
- What immediate actions are required
- What employees must and must not do in specific areas
- What remedial work is planned and when
A maintenance operative needs to know not to drill into a particular ceiling void. A building manager needs to understand the full remediation plan and their oversight responsibilities. These are different conversations — tailor accordingly.
Communication Strategies That Actually Work
Formal Briefing Meetings for Management
For management, a formal briefing meeting is the most effective starting point. This gives decision-makers the chance to ask questions, understand their responsibilities, and commit to the required actions.
The asbestos manager or a representative from your surveying company should lead this session. Cover the following:
- What was surveyed and what was found
- The condition and risk level of identified ACMs
- Legal obligations arising from the findings
- Required updates to the asbestos management plan
- Resources and timelines for any remedial action
- Ongoing management responsibilities
Document the meeting, who attended, and any decisions made. This record may be important if the HSE ever audits your asbestos management arrangements.
Employee Briefings and Toolbox Talks
All employees — and particularly those whose work could disturb ACMs — must be informed of the findings in plain, accessible language. Toolbox talks work well for operational staff: brief, focused, and practical.
Cover the following with employees:
- Whether asbestos was found, and in what areas
- The condition of any ACMs and what that means for them day-to-day
- Areas or activities that are now restricted or require a permit to work
- What to do if they suspect they’ve disturbed an ACM
- Who to contact with questions or concerns
- Where the asbestos register is held and how to access it
Don’t assume employees will read a full technical report. Most won’t, and that’s understandable. Your job is to extract what’s relevant to them and communicate it clearly.
Written Summaries and Memos
A written summary — separate from the full technical report — should be distributed to all relevant staff. This doesn’t need to be lengthy. A clear one-to-two-page memo summarising findings, key risks, and required actions is often more useful than the full survey document.
The memo should state:
- Which areas were surveyed
- What was found, in plain language
- What actions are being taken and by whom
- What employees should do or avoid
- Who to contact for further information
Digital Channels and the Asbestos Register
Use your company intranet, email, or document management system to ensure the asbestos register and management plan are accessible to all relevant parties. Contractors and maintenance staff must be able to view the register before undertaking any work on the premises — this is a specific legal requirement under the Control of Asbestos Regulations.
Consider a brief digital update — an email or intranet post — each time the register is updated or a significant remedial action is completed. Keeping communication ongoing, rather than treating it as a one-off exercise, embeds asbestos awareness into your safety culture.
Tailoring Asbestos Survey Results to Different Audiences
Senior Management and Directors
Senior leaders need to understand liability, cost, and strategic responsibility. Frame the findings in terms of:
- Legal duty and the consequences of non-compliance
- Priority remedial actions and associated costs
- Resources required — budget, personnel, contractor procurement
- Reputational risk if asbestos management failures become public
- Insurance implications
Use concise summaries, risk matrices, and clear recommendations. Senior leaders are making decisions; give them what they need to make the right ones quickly.
Facilities and Maintenance Teams
These are often the highest-risk individuals — the people most likely to physically encounter ACMs during routine work. They need specific, operational guidance:
- Exact locations of ACMs, ideally with floor plans or annotated photographs
- Clear instructions on restricted areas and permit-to-work systems
- Materials they must not disturb under any circumstances
- Emergency procedures if accidental disturbance occurs
- PPE requirements for working in proximity to ACMs
General Employees
Most employees simply need reassurance and relevant information. Be honest about what was found. Explain what it means for them. Avoid unnecessarily alarming language, but don’t downplay genuine risks.
Emphasise that managed asbestos in good condition is not an immediate danger — it’s disturbed or damaged asbestos that poses a risk. Employees who understand this are far more likely to report concerns rather than ignore them.
Contractors and External Workers
Before any contractor works on your premises, they must be shown the relevant sections of the asbestos register. This is not optional — it’s a specific duty under the regulations. Keep a written record that this information was provided, and by whom, every time.
If your building is located in a major city, working with a local specialist makes contractor coordination far more straightforward. Our teams covering asbestos survey London, asbestos survey Manchester, and asbestos survey Birmingham are experienced in producing reports that clearly support contractor briefings and site-specific risk management.
Roles and Responsibilities in Communicating Survey Findings
The Asbestos Manager
Every organisation with a duty to manage asbestos should have a designated asbestos manager. Their responsibilities include:
- Maintaining and updating the asbestos register
- Coordinating communication of survey findings
- Overseeing the asbestos management plan
- Ensuring ACMs are regularly re-inspected — typically on an annual basis
- Managing contractors who work near asbestos
- Arranging asbestos awareness training for relevant staff
HR and Safety Officers
HR and safety officers support the communication process by ensuring training is delivered, records are maintained, and employees’ rights to information are upheld. Health surveillance records for workers who may have been exposed to asbestos must be kept for a minimum of 40 years.
Safety officers should also verify that the organisation’s safe systems of work are consistent with the survey findings — and update them if they’re not.
Handling Questions and Concerns From Staff
Run a Dedicated Q&A Session
After your initial briefings, hold a dedicated Q&A session open to all staff. Employees often have concerns they won’t raise in a formal setting but will ask about in a more open forum. Have the asbestos manager, a safety officer, and if possible a representative from your surveying company present.
Common questions employees raise include:
- Is it safe to continue working in the building?
- Has anyone already been exposed?
- What health monitoring is available?
- What happens if I accidentally disturb something?
- Who is responsible for fixing this?
Answer honestly. Employees who feel they’re being kept in the dark will not trust the process — and that mistrust is a safety risk in itself.
Make Contact Information Easily Accessible
Publish the asbestos manager’s contact details prominently — in the asbestos register, on the intranet, in written memos, and in any areas where ACMs are present. Employees should never have to search hard to raise a concern about asbestos.
Follow-Up Actions and Ongoing Management
Keep the Asbestos Register Up to Date
The asbestos register is a living document. It must be updated whenever:
- New ACMs are discovered
- The condition of known ACMs changes
- Asbestos is removed or encapsulated
- Refurbishment or demolition work is completed
- A re-inspection survey is carried out
Annual re-inspections are standard practice for most properties. Each re-inspection should trigger a fresh communication cycle — not just a quiet update to the register.
Communicate Progress on Remedial Actions
Where the survey has identified materials requiring removal, encapsulation, or repair, implement those actions promptly and keep staff informed of progress. Employees who were told about a risk in January will notice if nothing has happened by June — and they’ll lose confidence in the process.
Communicate clearly when work has been completed and what that means for access to previously restricted areas. Closing the loop matters.
Asbestos Awareness Training
All employees who work in buildings where asbestos is present should receive asbestos awareness training. This is not a one-off exercise — refresher training should be delivered at regular intervals, and any new staff should be trained before they begin work in an affected building.
Training should be updated whenever survey findings reveal new or changed risks. The content of the training should reflect the actual asbestos survey results for your specific building — not just generic guidance.
What Happens When Communication Breaks Down
The consequences of poor communication aren’t hypothetical. When asbestos survey results aren’t properly shared, workers carry out tasks in restricted areas without knowing the risk. Contractors disturb ACMs they were never told about. Managers make decisions without understanding their legal exposure.
The HSE takes a dim view of duty holders who have commissioned surveys but failed to act on or communicate the findings. Enforcement notices, improvement notices, and prosecution are all possible outcomes. More seriously, the human cost — workers developing asbestos-related disease years down the line — is irreversible.
Getting the communication right isn’t bureaucracy. It’s the difference between a survey that actually protects people and one that simply generates paperwork.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is legally required to receive asbestos survey results?
Under the Control of Asbestos Regulations, the duty holder must ensure that anyone who is liable to work on or disturb asbestos-containing materials is made aware of the findings. This includes employees, maintenance staff, and contractors. Senior management and the designated asbestos manager must also be fully briefed. There is no legal basis for withholding this information from those who need it.
How soon after a survey should results be communicated?
As soon as possible. If the survey identifies high-priority or urgent risks, those findings should be communicated immediately — before any further work takes place in affected areas. For lower-risk findings, communication should still happen promptly and certainly before the next maintenance cycle or contractor visit. Delay creates unnecessary legal and health risk.
Do contractors have a right to see the asbestos register before starting work?
Yes. The Control of Asbestos Regulations specifically require that contractors are provided with relevant information from the asbestos register before they begin any work on the premises. This applies every time a contractor attends the site, not just on their first visit. You should keep a written record confirming that this information was shared.
What should I do if employees are concerned about their health after seeing the survey results?
Take those concerns seriously and address them directly. Employees who believe they may have been exposed to asbestos in the past should be referred to an occupational health professional. The HSE also provides guidance on health surveillance for workers who have been exposed. Reassure staff that asbestos in good, undisturbed condition does not pose an immediate risk — but never dismiss concerns without proper investigation.
How often should asbestos survey results be reviewed and recommunicated?
The asbestos register should be reviewed at least annually, typically following a re-inspection survey. Any changes to the register — new materials identified, condition changes, or completed remedial work — should be communicated to relevant staff promptly. Communication is not a one-time event; it should be an ongoing part of your asbestos management plan.
Talk to Supernova About Your Asbestos Survey
At Supernova Asbestos Surveys, we don’t just deliver a report and walk away. Our surveyors produce clear, well-structured reports that make it straightforward for duty holders to understand their findings and communicate them effectively to staff and management.
With over 50,000 surveys completed nationwide, we work with property managers, facilities teams, and organisations of all sizes across the UK. Whether you need an initial survey, a re-inspection, or support understanding existing asbestos survey results, we’re here to help.
Call us on 020 4586 0680 or visit asbestos-surveys.org.uk to arrange your survey or speak to one of our team.