Health and safety for businesses

Inhaling asbestos fibres can cause serious illnesses, including malignant lung cancer, mesothelioma and asbestosis.

Licence to work with asbestos

Under the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012, in some circumstances working with asbestos requires a licence. It is an offence to work with asbestos without one and could result in prosecution.

In non-domestic situations, the law on asbestos work is enforced by the Health and Safety Executive with the local authority inspectors enforcing mainly in the retail and services sectors.

Find out more about licences to work with asbestos on the HSE website.

Non-licensed notifiable work

Some minor work is notifiable but can be carried out by those who are trained without a need for a license. You can find more information on notifiable asbestos work on the HSE website.

In such cases you must:

• notify the enforcing authority about the work
• keep a record of the job
• ensure all workers have had a medical examination

If you’re in retail or a service business and are planning any work where you suspect asbestos may be present contact us using the details at the bottom of this page.