| Guvnor

What this means for your business

21 obligations

16 penalties

16 can imprison

6 guides

Enforced by: Mining Remediation Authority, National Highways, Natural England
Applies to: United Kingdom
On this page: 21 compliance obligations, 6 practical guides across 2 topics

Read full text on legislation.gov.uk

What you must do

21 compliance obligations under this legislation — 16 can result in imprisonment.

Appointments 1

If your business arranges asbestos air monitoring or asks for a clearance certificate after asbestos work, you must only use labs or assessors that are accredited and follow the ISO‑17025 (and ISO‑17020 for clearance) quality standards. You’re responsible for checking their accreditation before you hire them.

Employer s.20 Historic England When you arrange asbestos air fibre concentration measurements or a site‑clearance assessment …

Risk assessment 2

Before you start any demolition, maintenance or other work that could expose your staff to asbestos, you must either carry out a proper asbestos survey to identify what asbestos is present and its condition, or if you're unsure, treat the area as if asbestos (other than chrysotile) is present and follow the regulations.

Employer s.5 Historic England When undertaking demolition, maintenance or any work that could expose employees to …

You must not start any job that could expose your staff to asbestos unless you have carried out a proper risk assessment, recorded the key findings and put the required control measures in place. The assessment must identify the type of asbestos, the likely exposure level, any existing or planned controls, monitoring results and relevant medical information, and it must be reviewed whenever conditions change. A copy of the assessment must be kept on the work site while the work is being carried out if exposure could exceed the legal limit.

Employer s.6 Historic England when work may expose employees to asbestos

Equipment and safety 1

If any of your staff might come into contact with asbestos, you must give them suitable protective clothing and keep that clothing clean or dispose of it safely. The cleaning has to be done on‑site (if you have the facilities) or by a suitably equipped laundry, and the clothing must be packed and clearly labelled when it is moved off the work site. If an employee’s own clothes become contaminated, treat them as protective clothing and clean or dispose of them in the same way.

Employer s.14 Historic England When a worker is exposed or likely to be exposed to asbestos …

Management duties 16

If any work you control could expose people to asbestos, you must clearly mark the area as an asbestos area or a respirator zone, post signs and barriers, and only allow authorised, suitably trained staff to enter. You also have to stop eating, drinking or smoking there and provide separate facilities for those activities.

Employer s.18 Historic England When work under your control could expose employees to asbestos

If you need to check any material for asbestos, you must make sure the analysis is carried out to the same quality standards as ISO 17025. That means either running the test in‑house using ISO‑17025‑compliant processes, or hiring a laboratory that holds ISO 17025 accreditation, and keeping the supporting records.

Employer s.21 Historic England When you analyse a sample for asbestos or commission someone else to …

If your business supplies any equipment, protective clothing or facilities to control asbestos, you must make sure they are used correctly. You need to give staff clear instructions, ensure the items are returned after use and that any faults are reported straight away.

Employer s.12 Historic England when you provide any control measure, equipment or facility for asbestos under …

If your business carries out any work that could expose employees to asbestos, you must keep the work area and any equipment used clean while the work is happening, and give it a thorough clean once the work is finished. This means you need cleaning procedures in place and must check they are followed so workers are not exposed to dust or residues.

Employer s.17 Historic England When you undertake work that exposes or could expose employees to asbestos

If your business supplies raw asbestos, asbestos waste or any article that contains asbestos (including used protective clothing), you must attach the prescribed label to the product or its packaging. The label has to follow the exact design, colour, size and wording set out in the Regulations and include any required safety instructions.

Manufacturer/Importer Schedule 2 Historic England When supplying raw asbestos, asbestos waste or any article that contains asbestos

If you supply a product that contains asbestos under an exemption, you must put a label on the product (or on the asbestos‑containing component) that meets the Schedule 2 requirements. You can omit the label only when the component is so small that a label cannot be affixed. The label must be in place before the product is supplied to the customer.

Trader/Business s.27 Historic England When you supply a product containing asbestos under an exemption (Regulation 29 …

If you provide any equipment, protective clothing, ventilation or work procedures to control asbestos, you must keep them in good working order, review the procedures regularly and have them tested by a competent person. You also need to keep records of those tests and any repairs for at least five years.

Employer s.13 Historic England

If any of your staff are exposed to asbestos, you must keep an approved health record for each of them for at least 40 years, arrange a medical check‑up before they start work and regular follow‑up exams (including a chest exam) at the required intervals, keep the doctor's certificates, give employees access to their records and provide suitable facilities for the examinations. You also have to let doctors see the records, notify the Executive if the business closes, and take action if an asbestos‑related disease is diagnosed.

Employer s.22 Historic England When you have employees who are exposed to asbestos (licensable or non‑licensable …

If you are responsible for maintaining or controlling a non‑domestic building (for example as a landlord, tenant or occupier), you must find out whether asbestos is present, assess the risk, produce a written management plan and keep it up to date. You also need to monitor the asbestos, keep records and give the right information to anyone who might disturb it or to emergency services.

Landlord/Property Owner s.4 Historic England When you have a contract, tenancy or any control over the maintenance/repair …

Before you start any work that involves asbestos, you must write a detailed plan explaining how the work will be carried out and keep a copy of that plan on the site for as long as the work continues. The plan has to set out the work’s nature, duration, location, methods, equipment, and how you will meet the other asbestos regulations, and for demolition or major refurbishment it should state that asbestos is removed first wherever this is practicable. You must then make sure the asbestos work is carried out exactly as the written plan (including any later written changes).

Employer s.7 Historic England When you carry out any work involving asbestos

If asbestos is accidentally released at your workplace you must have a plan in place. You need written emergency procedures, regular drills, clear information on the hazards, warning and communication systems, and you must only allow authorised repair staff into the area equipped with suitable respiratory protection and specialised equipment.

Employer s.15 Historic England When an accident, incident or emergency involving an unplanned release of asbestos …

You must not carry out asbestos spraying or use low‑density asbestos‑containing insulating or sound‑proofing materials, and you must make sure your employees are never exposed to asbestos when extracting or manufacturing asbestos products. In practice this means putting safe systems, training and monitoring in place and stopping any prohibited activities.

Employer s.26 Historic England when undertaking asbestos spraying, using low‑density asbestos‑containing materials, extracting asbestos, or manufacturing …

If you run a business that has asbestos on any site you control, you must stop it from spreading. Where complete prevention isn’t reasonably possible, you must bring any spread down to the lowest level that is reasonably practicable. This means putting in place suitable controls, cleaning procedures and monitoring to keep asbestos fibres contained.

Employer s.16 Historic England

You must stop asbestos exposure for your staff wherever it is reasonably practicable. If you cannot fully prevent it, you must put in place engineering controls, ventilation and safe work processes to keep exposure as low as possible and limit the number of people exposed at any one time. You also have to provide suitable respiratory protective equipment when needed, keep air‑borne asbestos below the legal control limit and act immediately if that limit is breached.

Employer s.11 Historic England

If any of your staff could be exposed to asbestos, you must give them suitable washing and changing rooms, and separate storage for protective clothing, personal clothes and respiratory equipment. The storage areas must be kept separate from each other.

Employer s.23 Historic England when an employee is exposed to asbestos at work

If your business works with asbestos, you must keep any raw asbestos or waste that contains asbestos in sealed, clearly marked containers and you may only move it through a fully enclosed system. All asbestos material has to be labelled according to the prescribed schedule, so anyone handling it knows it contains asbestos.

Employer s.24 Historic England when undertaking work that involves raw asbestos or asbestos‑containing waste

Training 1

If any of your staff could be exposed to asbestos, or supervise work that does, you must give them clear information, instruction and training about asbestos hazards, safe work practices, protective equipment, emergency and hygiene procedures, medical checks and monitoring. This training must be refreshed regularly and updated whenever the work, methods or risk assessment change.

Employer s.10 Historic England When an employee may be exposed to asbestos or supervises such work, …