There is no legal requirement to repeat an entire formal awareness refresher training course every 12 months. However, some form of refresher should be given, as necessary, to help ensure knowledge of asbestos awareness is maintained.
Essentially, this depends on the training provider. Some certificates have no expiry date at all, whilst others do. Many certificates have a one-year expiry date. However, once the certificate has expired this is not to say that the employee will need to undergo full asbestos training again; a brief refresher may in fact be enough. Keeping asbestos training up-to-date is crucial as it raises asbestos awareness and ensures that the constantly evolving legislation is adhered to.
An asbestos awareness certificate, thus, should be understood as a recognition of an individual’s completion of asbestos training rather than a legally mandated document. The possession of such a certificate is not a legal requirement and is not mandated by law. Essentially, it serves as an acknowledgment from a training provider that an employee has successfully undergone asbestos training.
Not all training providers choose to issue certificates, and this absence does not diminish the validity of the training itself. While having an asbestos awareness certificate can certainly enhance an employee’s health and safety training portfolio, it should be emphasized that its absence does not contravene any legal obligations. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has explicitly clarified that while asbestos training is indeed a legal requirement, holding a certificate post-training is not a legal mandate. Therefore, the focus should be on the quality and completion of the training itself, rather than the possession of a certificate.