The Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012

Application of these Regulations U.K.

3.—(1) These Regulations apply to a self-employed person as they apply to an employer and an employee and as if that self-employed person were both an employer and an employee.

(2) Regulations 9 (notification of work with asbestos), 18(1)(a) (designated areas) and 22 (health records and medical surveillance) do not apply where—

(a) the exposure to asbestos of employees is sporadic and of low intensity; and

(b) it is clear from the risk assessment that the exposure to asbestos of any employee will not exceed the control limit; and

(c) the work involves—

(i) short, non-continuous maintenance activities in which only non-friable materials are handled, or

(ii) removal without deterioration of non-degraded materials in which the asbestos fibres are firmly linked in a matrix, or

(iii) encapsulation or sealing of asbestos-containing materials which are in good condition, or

(iv) air monitoring and control, and the collection and analysis of samples to ascertain whether a specific material contains asbestos.

(3) Where a duty is placed by these Regulations on an employer in respect of employees of that employer, the employer is, so far as is reasonably practicable, under a like duty in respect of any other person, whether at work or not, who may be affected by the work activity carried out by that employer except that the duties of the employer—

(a) under regulation 10 (information, instruction and training) do not extend to persons who are not employees of that employer unless those persons are on the premises where the work is being carried out; and

(b) under regulation 22 (health records and medical surveillance) do not extend to persons who are not employees of that employer.

(4) Regulation 17 (cleanliness of premises and plant), to the extent that it requires an employer to ensure that premises are thoroughly cleaned, does not apply—

(a) in England and Wales, to a fire and rescue authority within the meaning of section 1 of the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004 M1 or, in Scotland, to a relevant authority within the meaning of section 6 of the Fire (Scotland) Act 2005 M2 , in respect of premises attended by its employees for the purpose of fighting a fire or in an emergency; or

(b) to the employer of persons who attend a ship in dock premises for the purpose of fighting a fire or in an emergency, in respect of any ship so attended,

and for the purposes of this paragraph “ship” includes all vessels and hovercraft which operate on water or land and water, and “dock premises” means a dock, wharf, quay, jetty or other place at which ships load or unload goods or embark or disembark passengers, together with neighbouring land or water which is used or occupied, or intended to be used or occupied, for those or incidental activities, and any part of a ship when used for those or incidental activities.

(5) These Regulations shall not apply to the master or crew of a ship or to the employer of such persons in respect of the normal shipboard activities of a ship's crew which are carried out solely by the crew under the direction of the master, and for the purposes of this paragraph “ship” includes every description of vessel used in navigation, other than a ship forming part of Her Majesty's Navy.

Marginal Citations

M1 2004 c.21; section 1(2)(d) was amended by the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 (c.36), section 32(1) and Schedule 2, Part 1, paragraph 10(1) and (2).

M2 2005 asp 5.