What the Control of Asbestos Regulations Requires Employers to Do — and What Happens If They Don’t
Asbestos was used in UK construction for decades, and its legacy remains in thousands of commercial buildings still in use today. The control of asbestos regulations requires employers to take clear, legally enforceable steps to protect everyone who works in or visits those buildings. Ignore those obligations, and the consequences — for workers’ health, for your business, and for your reputation — can be severe.
This post breaks down exactly what the law demands, what good asbestos management looks like in practice, and what happens when employers fall short.
The Legal Framework: What the Control of Asbestos Regulations Requires Employers to Understand
The Control of Asbestos Regulations is the primary piece of legislation governing asbestos management in Great Britain. It applies to all non-domestic premises and sets out enforceable duties for employers, building owners, and those responsible for managing properties.
The regulations are supported by HSG264 — the Health and Safety Executive’s definitive guidance on conducting asbestos surveys. Together, these form the legal and practical framework that every duty holder must follow.
The key principle is straightforward: if you manage a non-domestic building that may contain asbestos-containing materials (ACMs), you have a duty to manage those materials proactively. Waiting for a problem to arise is not a legal option.
Who Is Covered by the Duty to Manage?
The duty to manage applies to anyone who has responsibility for the maintenance or repair of non-domestic premises. This includes employers who own or lease their workplace, facilities managers, landlords, and managing agents.
If your building was constructed before the year 2000, asbestos-containing materials may be present. The regulations treat this as a starting point — the burden is on the duty holder to establish the facts, not to assume the building is clear.
Even if a previous occupier or owner carried out a survey, you remain responsible for ensuring that information is current, accurate, and properly managed. Inheriting a building does not mean inheriting a clean bill of health.
The Specific Duties: What Employers Must Do Under the Regulations
The control of asbestos regulations requires employers to carry out a series of specific, documented actions. These are not optional best-practice recommendations — they are legal requirements.
1. Identify Whether Asbestos Is Present
The first obligation is to find out whether ACMs exist in the building. This means commissioning a professional management survey carried out by a qualified surveyor. The survey identifies the type, location, quantity, condition, and surface treatment of any asbestos found.
Where building work, renovation, or demolition is planned, a refurbishment survey is required before any work begins. This is a more intrusive inspection covering all areas likely to be disturbed during the works.
For buildings scheduled for full demolition, a demolition survey is required. This is the most thorough type of survey and must be completed before any structural work commences.
2. Assess the Risk
Once ACMs are identified, employers must assess the risk they pose. Not all asbestos presents the same level of danger — materials in good condition and unlikely to be disturbed carry a lower risk than damaged or friable materials in high-traffic areas.
The risk assessment must consider the type of asbestos, its physical condition, its location, and the likelihood of disturbance. This assessment forms the basis for all subsequent management decisions.
3. Produce and Maintain an Asbestos Management Plan
Every duty holder must have a written asbestos management plan that sets out how identified ACMs will be managed, monitored, and — where necessary — remediated. The plan must be kept up to date and reviewed regularly.
Your plan should record what is currently in place, what actions are required, who is responsible for each action, and when those actions will be completed. A management plan that sits in a filing cabinet and is never reviewed is not compliant.
4. Maintain an Asbestos Register
The asbestos register is a live document that records the location, type, condition, and risk rating of every ACM identified in the building. It must be accessible to anyone who might disturb those materials — including contractors, maintenance staff, and emergency services.
Failing to share the register with contractors before they begin work is one of the most common compliance failures, and one that can have serious consequences if ACMs are disturbed unknowingly. Make this a standard part of your contractor induction process.
5. Monitor the Condition of ACMs
Asbestos in good condition today can deteriorate over time. The regulations require duty holders to monitor the condition of known ACMs on a regular basis. This is achieved through a periodic re-inspection survey, which checks whether the condition of materials has changed and whether the risk assessment needs updating.
Re-inspections are typically carried out annually, though higher-risk materials may require more frequent checks. Skipping re-inspections is a compliance gap that the HSE takes seriously.
6. Inform and Train Relevant Workers
The control of asbestos regulations requires employers to ensure that employees who may work with or near ACMs are informed about the risks and trained to handle them appropriately. This includes maintenance staff, contractors, and anyone else who might disturb materials during routine work.
Training must be role-appropriate. A general awareness briefing is sufficient for some workers; others — such as those licensed to remove asbestos — require specific, accredited training. Documenting the training you have provided is essential.
7. Arrange Safe Removal Where Necessary
Where ACMs are in poor condition, are at risk of disturbance, or need to be removed ahead of building work, the regulations set out strict requirements for how that removal must be handled.
Most asbestos removal work must be carried out by a licensed contractor. If you need to arrange asbestos removal, the work must be notified to the HSE in advance, carried out using correct containment and disposal procedures, and documented with a clearance certificate.
Liability for Past Asbestos Exposure
One of the most serious aspects of asbestos law is that employers can face legal liability for exposure that occurred years — or even decades — in the past. Asbestos-related diseases such as mesothelioma and asbestosis have latency periods of up to 40 years, meaning workers exposed in the 1980s or 1990s may only now be developing symptoms.
If a former employee develops an asbestos-related illness and can demonstrate that their exposure occurred in a workplace you were responsible for, you may face civil claims for compensation. The burden on the claimant is to show that negligent exposure occurred — and inadequate records, missing surveys, or a failure to follow the regulations will significantly weaken your defence.
This is why documentation is not just a bureaucratic exercise. A complete, accurate, and up-to-date asbestos management file is your best evidence that you fulfilled your duty of care. Courts and the HSE will look at what you knew, when you knew it, and what you did about it.
Employers who can produce a clear paper trail — surveys, risk assessments, management plans, training records, and re-inspection reports — are in a far stronger position than those who cannot. Those who cannot produce that evidence face significant exposure, both legally and financially.
What Happens When Employers Don’t Comply
Non-compliance with the Control of Asbestos Regulations is not treated lightly by the HSE or the courts. The consequences fall into three broad categories: health, legal, and financial.
Health Consequences
Asbestos is the single greatest cause of work-related deaths in the UK. When ACMs are disturbed without proper controls, microscopic fibres are released into the air and can be inhaled. Over time, this can lead to mesothelioma, lung cancer, asbestosis, and pleural thickening — all serious, progressive, and often fatal conditions.
These are not abstract risks. They affect real workers, and the duty to prevent them is absolute. No commercial or operational pressure justifies cutting corners on asbestos management.
Legal Consequences
The HSE has the power to issue improvement notices, prohibition notices, and prosecute employers who fail to comply with asbestos regulations. Prosecution can result in unlimited fines and, in serious cases, custodial sentences for individuals found to have acted with gross negligence.
Former employees or their families may also pursue civil claims for compensation. These claims can run to significant sums, particularly where the illness is severe and the claimant can demonstrate that proper precautions were not taken.
Reputational and Operational Consequences
Beyond the legal and financial penalties, a failure to manage asbestos responsibly can cause lasting reputational damage. Enforcement action by the HSE is a matter of public record. Contractors, clients, and tenants are increasingly aware of asbestos obligations, and a poor compliance record can affect your ability to win contracts or attract occupants.
In sectors where supply chain compliance is scrutinised — construction, facilities management, social housing — a history of asbestos non-compliance can effectively close doors that would otherwise be open to you.
Practical Steps to Achieve and Maintain Compliance
If you are responsible for a non-domestic building constructed before 2000 and you are not certain of its asbestos status, the starting point is clear: commission a management survey from a qualified, BOHS P402-certified surveyor.
From there, the compliance process follows a logical sequence:
- Commission a management survey to identify and record all ACMs in the building.
- Produce a risk assessment for each material identified, based on condition and likelihood of disturbance.
- Create an asbestos management plan that sets out how each ACM will be managed, monitored, and actioned.
- Maintain an asbestos register and make it available to all relevant workers and contractors.
- Schedule annual re-inspections to monitor the condition of ACMs and update the register accordingly.
- Inform and train staff who may work near or with ACMs, and keep records of that training.
- Arrange licensed removal for any materials that are deteriorating or due to be disturbed by building works.
If you are unsure whether your current arrangements are sufficient, an independent compliance review can identify gaps before they become enforcement issues. Acting early is always less costly than responding to an HSE notice or a civil claim.
Additional Workplace Safety Considerations
Asbestos management does not exist in isolation. Employers managing older buildings often have overlapping obligations under other health and safety regulations, and these need to be coordinated rather than treated as separate exercises.
A fire risk assessment is a legal requirement for most non-domestic premises. In buildings where asbestos is present, the two risk management processes need to be coordinated — particularly where fire damage could disturb ACMs and release fibres into the atmosphere.
Where you are uncertain whether specific materials contain asbestos but cannot immediately commission a full survey, a testing kit allows you to collect samples for laboratory analysis. This can provide a useful interim step, though it does not replace a full management survey for compliance purposes.
Combining your asbestos management obligations with your wider health and safety framework — including fire risk assessments and contractor management procedures — gives you a more coherent and defensible compliance position overall.
Asbestos Management Across the UK
The obligations under the Control of Asbestos Regulations apply equally across England, Scotland, and Wales. Whether you manage a commercial property in the capital or a warehouse in the north of England, the same legal framework applies and the same standards of documentation are expected.
Supernova Asbestos Surveys operates nationwide. If you need an asbestos survey London or a survey anywhere else across the country, our qualified surveyors are available with same-week appointments in most locations.
How Supernova Asbestos Surveys Can Help
Supernova Asbestos Surveys has completed over 50,000 surveys across the UK. Every survey is carried out by BOHS P402-qualified surveyors and backed by analysis at our UKAS-accredited laboratory. Our reports are fully compliant with HSG264 guidance and provide everything you need to demonstrate legal compliance.
Our services include:
- Management surveys — from £195 for standard residential or small commercial properties
- Refurbishment and demolition surveys — from £295, covering all areas to be disturbed
- Re-inspection surveys — from £150, plus £20 per ACM re-inspected
- Asbestos removal — carried out by licensed contractors with full documentation
- Fire risk assessments — from £195 for standard commercial premises
- Bulk sample testing kits — from £30 per sample
All pricing is subject to property size and location. Get a free quote online or call us to discuss your requirements.
Don’t leave your asbestos obligations to chance. Call Supernova Asbestos Surveys on 020 4586 0680 or visit asbestos-surveys.org.uk to book your survey today.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the Control of Asbestos Regulations require employers to do first?
The first obligation is to determine whether asbestos-containing materials are present in the building. For most non-domestic premises built before 2000, this means commissioning a professional management survey carried out by a BOHS P402-qualified surveyor. Until you know what is present, you cannot assess the risk, produce a management plan, or demonstrate compliance.
Does the duty to manage asbestos apply to all employers?
The duty to manage applies to anyone with responsibility for the maintenance or repair of non-domestic premises — including employers, landlords, facilities managers, and managing agents. If you have control over a building or part of a building, you are likely to be a duty holder. The regulations do not apply to domestic properties, though separate guidance covers landlords of residential premises.
Can an employer be held liable for asbestos exposure that happened years ago?
Yes. Asbestos-related diseases can take up to 40 years to develop, meaning employers can face civil claims for exposure that occurred decades in the past. If a former employee can demonstrate that they were negligently exposed to asbestos in a workplace you were responsible for, you may be liable for compensation. Thorough documentation of your asbestos management activities is your strongest defence in any such claim.
How often does an asbestos management plan need to be reviewed?
There is no fixed statutory interval, but HSE guidance indicates that the plan should be reviewed at least every six to twelve months, or sooner if there has been a change in the condition of ACMs, a change in the use of the building, or any disturbance of materials. Annual re-inspection surveys provide a natural trigger point for reviewing and updating both the register and the management plan.
What is the difference between a management survey and a refurbishment survey?
A management survey is a standard inspection designed to locate and assess ACMs in a building during normal occupation. It is non-intrusive and focuses on accessible areas. A refurbishment survey is a more intrusive inspection required before any renovation, fit-out, or demolition work begins. It covers all areas that will be disturbed and may involve destructive sampling to confirm the presence or absence of asbestos in specific materials.