Asbestos Medical Surveillance
Medical surveillance is the system of health monitoring that supports people who work with asbestos. We help employers and the self-employed understand the duty and arrange examinations that keep a workforce in date.
What medical surveillance means
Medical surveillance is the ongoing monitoring of workers' health where they are exposed, or liable to be exposed, to asbestos during qualifying work. It is one part of the wider duty to control the risks of asbestos, alongside training, risk assessment and exposure control.
It is important to be clear about what surveillance is and is not. A routine asbestos medical is a way of monitoring respiratory health over time; it is not a definitive diagnostic test for asbestos-related disease, and a certificate does not guarantee that someone is fit to work with asbestos. Where a doctor identifies something that needs further investigation, they can refer the worker on appropriately. We can help you set up surveillance in your area through our asbestos medical services.
Who is responsible for medical surveillance?
The duty follows the work and, for employees, sits with the employer.
Employers
Must ensure employees doing licensable or notifiable non-licensed work are under adequate medical surveillance, keep a health record, and arrange examinations during working hours at the employer's cost.
Self-employed workers
A self-employed person doing qualifying work is responsible for arranging their own surveillance on the same basis as an employee doing that work.
The examining doctor
Carries out the examination, issues the certificate of medical examination and holds the confidential clinical record.
How often is medical surveillance required?
The interval depends on the category of work:
- Licensable work, routine examination at least every 2 years, by an HSE-appointed doctor.
- Notifiable non-licensed work (NNLW), routine examination at least every 3 years.
A doctor can also ask for an earlier examination where they consider it appropriate. We can help you map renewal dates across a workforce so nobody falls out of date.
More on frequency- Licensed work
- at least every 2 years
- NNLW
- at least every 3 years
- Health record retention
- 40 years from the last entry
- Certificate retention
- 4 years
Health records vs medical records
Two different records arise from surveillance, and it helps to keep them separate:
- Health record, an administrative record the employer keeps (name, dates of examinations, nature and duration of exposure). It does not contain confidential clinical detail and is kept for 40 years.
- Medical record, the confidential clinical findings, held by the examining doctor, not the employer.
- Certificate of medical examination, confirms the examination and its date; the employer keeps it for 4 years.
Access to records
Employers must give workers access to their own health records. Workers are entitled to see what is recorded about their surveillance.
Medical surveillance FAQs
Where a worker carries out licensable or notifiable non-licensed asbestos work, the employer has a duty under regulation 22 of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 to ensure they are under adequate medical surveillance. Lower-risk non-notifiable work does not carry the same statutory medical surveillance duty.
For employees, the regulations place the duty to arrange and fund medical surveillance on the employer. Examinations should take place during the worker's normal working hours. Self-employed workers carrying out qualifying work are responsible for arranging their own surveillance.
The employer must keep a health record for each worker under surveillance for 40 years from the date of the last entry. The certificate of medical examination is kept for 4 years.
Employers and contractors can arrange individual or group examinations through a corporate enquiry. Group surveillance can be planned around work schedules and renewal dates. Send the number of workers and the type of work involved and we can advise on the right type of medical.
Related services
Need to arrange an asbestos medical?
Tell us the type of work and how many people need examining. We will help you arrange the right medical surveillance and send a clear quotation.
Important: This page is general guidance about occupational asbestos medicals in the UK and is not medical or legal advice. It does not diagnose or treat any condition. Confirm your specific duties with a qualified occupational health professional or by consulting HSE guidance.