Humanitarian · Benefits & hardship support · 3 November 2026
Asbestos compensation rules change to allow full awards
The Department for Work and Pensions has announced that families of workers who died from asbestos-related diseases before claiming will now receive the full compensation award. The change takes effect on 31st October and is expected to benefit approximately 300 families per year.
The Department for Work and Pensions has published new compensation rules that ensure dependants of deceased workers receive the full award their loved ones would have been entitled to. Sir Stephen Timms, Minister for Social Security and Disability, said: "From today, bereaved families will receive the full compensation their loved ones would have been entitled to, ending a longstanding unfairness in the system."
Figures published with the announcement show that in 2025, the average payment to workers with asbestos-related diseases was around £17,700. Previously, dependants received an average of around £10,700, which was £7,000 less than the average payment to sufferers. For a 60-year-old claimant, a dependant can now receive £56,656 instead of the previous £24,526.
The department expects the change to cost between £2 million and £6 million annually. The new rules apply across the UK, including Scotland. Melanie Ward, UK Government Minister for Scotland, noted that the government is putting an end to this injustice by scrapping reduced payments for dependants.
Written by StreetOwl from Department for Work and Pensions’s own announcement. It was drafted by StreetOwl’s own model, every figure and quotation was checked by code against the announcement, and it was read and approved by Michael Rossi before it went up. It says what was announced, not what anyone should do about it.
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