How often do you need asbestos awareness training?

Asbestos awareness training should be refreshed annually. While the regulations do not specify a fixed renewal period, the HSE and industry best practice recommend annual refresher training to keep knowledge current.

Do I Need Asbestos Awareness Training?

Yes, if your work could foreseeably disturb asbestos-containing materials (ACMs). Under Regulation 10 of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012, employers must ensure that any employee who may encounter asbestos during their work receives adequate training.

Who Needs Asbestos Awareness Training?

Asbestos awareness training is required for anyone whose work could bring them into contact with asbestos-containing materials, even if they do not work with asbestos directly. This includes:

Electricians — drilling into walls, ceilings, and floors that may contain ACMs
Plumbers — working around pipe lagging, boiler rooms, and cisterns
Joiners and carpenters — cutting into walls, ceilings, soffits, and floor tiles
Roofers — removing or repairing roofing materials
Painters and decorators — sanding, scraping, or preparing surfaces
General maintenance workers — carrying out routine building repairs
IT and telecom installers — running cables through older buildings
Heating engineers — working on boilers and heating systems in pre-2000 buildings
Building surveyors — inspecting properties that may contain ACMs
Demolition and refurbishment workers

Critical: Asbestos was used extensively in UK buildings constructed or refurbished before the year 2000. If you work in any building built before 2000, there is a realistic chance that asbestos-containing materials are present.

What Does Asbestos Awareness Training Cover?

Asbestos awareness training (sometimes called Category A training) covers:

What asbestos is and why it is dangerous
The three main types of asbestos (chrysotile, amosite, crocidolite)
Where asbestos is commonly found in buildings
How to recognise materials that may contain asbestos
What to do if you discover or suspect asbestos
The health effects of asbestos exposure (mesothelioma, asbestosis, lung cancer)
Your legal duties and your employer's responsibilities
The duty to manage asbestos in non-domestic buildings (Regulation 4)

The Three Categories of Asbestos Training

Category	Who Needs It	Purpose
A — Awareness	Anyone who may encounter ACMs	Recognise and avoid asbestos
B — Non-licensed work	Workers doing minor asbestos work (e.g. removing a small section of ACM)	Safe procedures for low-risk asbestos tasks
C — Licensed work	Licensed asbestos removal contractors	Full removal and disposal procedures

How Often Should Training Be Refreshed?

The HSE and industry best practice recommend that asbestos awareness training is refreshed annually. While the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 do not specify a fixed renewal period, they require that training is repeated at "regular intervals" and that employees' knowledge remains current.

Why Is Asbestos Still a Problem?

Although the UK banned all forms of asbestos in 1999, the legacy remains:

Over 500,000 non-domestic buildings in the UK are estimated to still contain asbestos
Asbestos kills approximately 5,000 workers per year in the UK — more than are killed on the roads
Mesothelioma, an asbestos-related cancer, takes 15–60 years to develop after exposure
There is no safe level of asbestos exposure

The duty to manage: Under Regulation 4 of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012, anyone responsible for maintenance and repair of non-domestic premises has a duty to manage asbestos. This includes identifying ACMs, assessing their condition, and creating an asbestos management plan.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Can asbestos awareness training be done online?

Yes. Asbestos awareness (Category A) training can be completed entirely online. It is a knowledge-based course with no practical assessment component. Online delivery is widely accepted across the construction and maintenance industries.

What is the penalty for not having asbestos awareness training?

Failing to provide adequate asbestos training is a criminal offence under the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012. Penalties can include unlimited fines and, in serious cases, imprisonment. The HSE actively enforces these regulations through inspections and investigations.

Do office workers need asbestos awareness training?

Generally no, unless their work involves maintenance, refurbishment, or activities that could disturb building materials. However, building managers and facilities staff in pre-2000 buildings should have awareness training.