The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 requires an employer to provide a safe workplace.

Even if you are not an employer, you have a legal duty to maintain your premises to protect users and occupants under the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992.

You also have a legal duty to have carried out Risk Assessments and have in place written procedures to protect all users and occupants under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999.

If your premises were built before 1999, there is the possibility that some of the materials used contain asbestos. Buildings built in the 60’s and 70’s are highly likely to contain lots of asbestos unless it has already been removed.

Even if you think you do not have any asbestos, you are still required to act. The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) Regulations changed recently with amendments to The Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations (CAWR) 2002. With effect from 21 May 2004, Regulation 4 (3) of CAWR now legally requires you to have an interior and exterior survey for asbestos in your premises carried out by a trained and certified surveyor, not just act if you found some asbestos, as in the past.

The Act now requires the ‘Duty Holder’ of all non-domestic properties in Britain by Law to “ensure that a suitable and sufficient assessment is carried out as to whether asbestos is or is, liable to be present, in the premises".

It is Law that this work has to be completed by the 21st May 2004.

The CAWR Regulations (Reg 4 (3)) places a duty on anyone who is in control of the maintenance of non-domestic premises to or those controlling access to premises to:

• Take reasonable steps to identify where asbestos may exist, its amount and what condition it is in.
• To presume materials contain asbestos unless there is strong evidence to the contrary.
• Keep up-to-date records of the location and condition of asbestos-containing materials (ACMs) or materials that are presumed to contain ACMs.
• Carry out Risk assessments from the materials identified.
• Produce and implement a formal written Asbestos Management Plan by 21 May 2004.
• Take steps to put the Management Plan into action including marking of ACMs and include Plan review arrangements.
• Inform/consult Internally with all those who need to know of the location and condition of ACM’s
• Ensure that external employees, contractors, etc, are adequately informed and instructed on the precautions to be taken.

Besides the safety of yourself, your staff, other users and the public, If you are employing a contractor to work on your premises, you also have a duty to make sure that either the work will not lead to asbestos exposures and that the contractor has carried out a Risk Assessment and identified work practices to reduce exposures.