UK Government equalises asbestos compensation for bereaved families
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The UK Government changed compensation rules on 31 October to ensure that families of workers who die from asbestos-related diseases receive the same full award as the deceased would have received.
Previously, the system penalized grieving families by offering reduced payments if the worker died before a claim could be submitted. The new legislation addresses a long-standing inequality in the Pneumoconiosis etc. (Workers’ Compensation) Act 1979 scheme and the 2008 Diffuse Mesothelioma Scheme.
These schemes provide lump-sum payments to people who contract dust-related diseases through work but cannot secure damages from an employer, often because the employer no longer exists. Under the old rules, a dependant of a 60-year-old claimant might receive £24,526, while the claimant themselves would have received £56,656. The reform ensures the dependant now receives the full £56,656. The change follows decades of campaigning by groups such as the Asbestos Victims Support Group Forum UK and various parliamentarians.
The government estimates the cost of this reform will be between £2 million and £6 million per year. While the policy applies to new claims starting 31 October 2026, it does not provide retrospective payments for past claims. The Department for Communities in Northern Ireland plans to introduce similar changes to its corresponding scheme in the future.
