Families who have lost loved ones to asbestos-related and other industrial dust diseases could receive substantially higher compensation under new government rules that took effect on 31 October 2026. The Department for Work and Pensions estimates that approximately 300 bereaved families each year could benefit from the reform, which addresses a long-standing difference between the compensation paid to people suffering from certain industrial diseases and the payments available to their dependants if they died before making a claim.

According to the department, the average payment made to a successful claimant suffering from an eligible disease in 2025 was approximately £17,700. The reform raises the rates available to dependants under two established government schemes, closing part of the gap between what a living claimant could receive and what their family receives after a death. The change covers dependants under the 2008 Diffuse Mesothelioma Scheme and the 1979 scheme, which deal with different groups of sufferers.

Not retrospective

An important warning accompanies the change: it is not retrospective. The new legislation does not automatically increase compensation for every family whose loved one died before 31 October 2026. For the 2008 Diffuse Mesothelioma Scheme, the new higher dependant rates apply where the person with mesothelioma dies on or after 31 October 2026. For the 1979 scheme, the amendments apply to cases where the conditions of entitlement are first met on or after that date.

Families who think they may be affected should therefore check which scheme applies to their case and the date on which entitlement arose, rather than assuming the new rates apply. The reform is a change to future cases, and its value to any individual family will depend on the scheme, the disease and the timing of the claim.