Armco Asbestos Training
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Armco Asbestos Training
Last Updated on July 22, 2025 by Phil Collins
If you work in construction, property management or own a building constructed before 2000, you need to understand your legal duties regarding asbestos. Despite being banned in 1999, asbestos still kills around 5,000 people every year in the UK. The law is clear about who is responsible and what you must do.
The Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 (CAR 2012) are the main regulations governing asbestos in the UK. These regulations replaced earlier rules and work alongside guidance from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). They are not suggestions – they are legal requirements that carry serious penalties if ignored.
Duty Holders
If you are a duty holder, the primary legal responsibility falls on your shoulders. This applies to anyone with control over non-domestic premises built before the year 2000. You might be a duty holder if you are:
Non-domestic premises include offices, schools, shops, hospitals, warehouses and any building that is not just someone’s home.
Employers
As an employer, you have specific duties if your workers might encounter asbestos. You must ensure they receive appropriate training, provide protective equipment and follow safe working procedures. You cannot send untrained workers into situations where they might disturb asbestos.
Contractors
Contractors have their own responsibilities too. If you are completing any refurbishment works in a commercial or domestic building that could potentially disturb hidden asbestos, you are required to get a refurbishment survey completed to help identify these before the works commence. However, if you discover suspected asbestos materials during work, you must stop all works, vacate the area, report it and get it tested immediately. You also need to ensure your workers are professionally trained, wear the correct RPE and follow safe procedures.
Find Out Where Asbestos Is
Your first legal duty is discovering whether asbestos exists in your building. This means arranging asbestos surveys. There are two types:
You cannot guess or assume, you need surveys conducted by competent surveyors.
Create an Asbestos Management Plan
Once you know where asbestos is and you have your register, you must create a management plan. This is not a tick-box exercise, it is a working document that includes:
Share Information
You must tell anyone, who might disturb asbestos, about its presence. This includes contractors, maintenance workers and anyone else working in the building. The information must be easily accessible and kept up to date.
Training Requirements
Asbestos awareness training is not optional; it is a minimum legal requirement. The HSE mandates that anyone likely to encounter asbestos during their work must complete appropriate training.
The level of training depends on what work you are doing:
Training must be delivered by competent providers and refreshed on a minimum 12 months basis.
Asbestos Removal Laws
The regulations split asbestos work into different categories with different rules:
Non-Licensed Work
Some lower-risk materials can be removed without a licence, but only if certain precautions are taken. Workers need training, protective equipment must be worn, and methods must minimise fibre release.
Notifiable Non-Licensed Work
Since 2012, certain non-licensed work requires notifying the HSE beforehand. This includes additional safety measures and enhanced procedures.
Licensed Work
High-risk materials like sprayed asbestos, insulation and lagging can only be removed by HSE-licensed contractors. This work requires:
The HSE enforces these regulations, and they take breaches seriously. You could face:
Beyond legal penalties, non-compliance puts people’s health at risk and could result in civil claims for damages.
Smart businesses go beyond just meeting legal requirements. This means regularly reviewing asbestos management plans, providing comprehensive training programmes and creating clear procedures for reporting concerns.
Working with experienced training providers ensures your team understands not just what the law requires but how to implement it practically and safely.
Asbestos regulations exist to prevent deaths and serious illness. Whether you are a building owner, employer or contractor, you have legal duties that must be fulfilled. Ignorance is not a defence and the consequences of getting it wrong are severe.
The regulations might seem complex, but they are straightforward once you understand them. The key is getting robust training for yourself and your team, conducting appropriate surveys and having strict management procedures in place.
At Armco Asbestos Training, we have trained over 12,000 workers across the construction industry. Our IATP-approved courses ensure you understand your legal responsibilities and know how to meet them safely. Do not risk your business or people’s health, get the training you need to stay on the right side of the law.
Published Jul 22, 2025
