5 Things Employers Need to Know About Asbestos Compliance in 2025
5 Things Employers Need to Know About Asbestos Compliance in 2025
Even in 2025, asbestos remains one of the biggest occupational health risks in the UK. If you're an employer, landlord, or facilities manager, you have a legal duty to protect anyone who may come into contact with asbestos in your premises or on your sites.
Here are five critical things you need to know to ensure you're meeting your responsibilities under current asbestos regulations.
1. Asbestos Is Still Present in Thousands of UK Buildings
Any building constructed before the year 2000 could contain asbestos-containing materials (ACMs). This includes schools, offices, hospitals, factories, and homes. Just because the building looks modern doesn’t mean it’s asbestos-free.
Employers have a duty to identify these materials and manage the risk appropriately — ignoring it won’t make it go away, and the HSE takes non-compliance seriously.
2. You Must Have an Up-to-Date Asbestos Management Plan
If you're responsible for non-domestic premises, you must have an asbestos management plan in place. This includes identifying ACMs, assessing their condition, recording the findings, and making sure anyone who might work on or disturb them knows where they are.
This isn’t a one-and-done exercise — the plan must be kept up to date and reviewed regularly.
3. Asbestos Awareness Training Is a Legal Requirement
Under the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012, any worker who may disturb asbestos during their normal work must receive asbestos awareness training. This applies to tradespeople, maintenance teams, and contractors — even if they’re only doing minor jobs like drilling into a wall or lifting ceiling tiles.
Failure to provide training can result in prosecution and heavy fines.
4. You’re Responsible for Contractors Too
If you bring contractors onto your site, you’re still responsible for their health and safety. That includes making sure they’re informed about the presence of asbestos and that they’ve completed relevant training before starting work.
Supplying them with an asbestos register and confirming training certificates should be standard practice.
5. Online Training Is Fully Recognised (If Done Right)
Online asbestos awareness training is a fully legitimate way to meet your obligations — provided it’s delivered by an accredited provider. UKASL offers IATP and RoSPA approved courses, which are widely accepted across the UK construction and facilities management sectors.
Certificates are issued instantly, and training can be completed in under two hours — making it easy to roll out across your team or supply chain.
Protect Your Team and Stay Compliant
Asbestos compliance is not just a legal box to tick — it's about protecting lives. UKASL makes it simple for employers to fulfil their responsibilities with fully accredited online training that’s fast, affordable, and easy to manage at scale.
View our asbestos training options to get started.
