Asbestos compensation: bereaved families get full rate
Families who lose a loved one to an asbestos-related illness will no longer receive a smaller government payment simply because the worker died before a claim was made. From 31 October 2026, dependants will be entitled to the same full rate that the worker could have received, in a change the Government says will help around 300 families each year.
The gap that has now closed
The reform covers two long-running schemes: the Pneumoconiosis etc. (Workers' Compensation) Act 1979 scheme and the 2008 Diffuse Mesothelioma Scheme. Both provide a one-off payment where a worker developed a dust-related disease through their job but could not secure damages from an employer, often because the firm no longer exists. Until now, a payment made after death was set at a lower level than one made to the sufferer.
Government figures illustrate the difference. In 2025, sufferers received average payments of about £17,700, while dependants paid after a death received around £10,700 — a shortfall of roughly £7,000. For a 60-year-old claimant, the contrast was starker still: a dependant could receive £24,526 instead of £56,656. The new rules remove that distinction for new dependant claims made from 31 October.
What changes — and what does not
Ministers describe the change as the end of a longstanding unfairness, following years of campaigning by support groups and parliamentarians. The Government estimates the equalisation will cost between £2 million and £6 million a year. Eligibility itself has not changed: the reform alters the amount paid to qualifying dependants, rather than creating a new right to claim. Claims already settled under the old rates are not reopened, as the new law applies to new dependant claims from 31 October.
The corresponding scheme in Northern Ireland, run by the Department for Communities, is expected to introduce similar changes separately. For families facing a claim, the message is straightforward: the timing of a death should no longer reduce the support available at an already difficult time.
