Families who lose loved ones to asbestos-related and other occupational dust diseases will receive higher compensation under new Government rules designed to end a longstanding disparity between payments to sufferers and their dependants.
Social Security and Disability Minister Sir Stephen Timms said the changes would ensure bereaved families receive the same compensation rate as the person who developed the disease.
He said:
“Families who have lost a loved one to a disease caused by their work deserve our support, not a system that treats them as an afterthought.”
Timms added that campaigners had highlighted the unfairness for more than a decade and said the reforms would provide “fairer, simpler, clearer support for families”.
£7,000 average gap to be removed
Workers who develop diseases such as mesothelioma and pneumoconiosis because of workplace exposure can receive a one-off government payment where they have been unable to recover compensation from an employer, often because the company responsible no longer exists.
Under the current arrangements, dependants can receive a lower payment if the sufferer dies before the claim is completed.
On average, sufferers receive around £17,700, compared with approximately £10,700 for dependants — an average difference of £7,000. The new legislation will equalise those rates.
Hundreds of bereaved families affected
In 2025, 2,730 sufferers received an award, while a further 300 payments were made to dependants at the lower rate.
The Government estimates that equalising the payments will increase the amount going to dependants by between £2 million and £6 million each year.
The reform has been welcomed by asbestos victims’ groups and trade unions, which have long argued that a family should not receive less simply because someone dies before their compensation is paid.
Compensation rules also being simplified
The reforms cover the Pneumoconiosis etc. (Workers’ Compensation) Act 1979 scheme and the 2008 Diffuse Mesothelioma Scheme.
Alongside equalising payments, ministers are simplifying the way awards are calculated, removing outdated top-up provisions and creating a clearer single structure.
The changes follow an independent legal review of the schemes.
Changes due from 31 October
The regulations have been laid before Parliament and are expected to come into force on 31 October 2026, subject to parliamentary approval. Northern Ireland is expected to introduce corresponding legislation separately.
The existing diffuse mesothelioma scheme already provides lump-sum payments to eligible sufferers and surviving dependants, with awards varying according to age.
Timms: families should receive full support
The reform addresses a longstanding concern that the timing of a person’s death could substantially reduce the financial support available to their family.
Timms’s argument is that bereaved families should not be penalised because their loved one died before compensation was received — and that dependants should receive the same level of support as sufferers themselves.
