Can I claim for an occupational disease?

Cracked hands after care-home cleaning. Wheezing after a bakery shift. Hearing loss after years around machinery. These are health problems, not a price you should have to pay for a wage. If work caused or worsened your illness, you may be able to claim compensation or benefits. Start recording what happened now, even if you have left the job.

Three routes to money

You do not have to prove employer fault to get every kind of help. Check each route rather than stopping because one does not fit.

A care assistant with occupational dermatitis can investigate a civil claim and IIDB while receiving sick pay. A former miner may qualify for IIDB after retirement. Someone with mesothelioma may have a payment route even when no employer or insurer can be traced. But pursuing advice on all routes does not mean collecting every payment in full. Civil claims and lump-sum applications can affect one another. Get advice on the order before issuing proceedings or accepting a settlement.

Claiming compensation from your employer

In Great Britain, health and safety law requires employers to protect employees’ health so far as reasonably practicable. Civil compensation usually requires evidence of negligence that caused or contributed to your illness.

Broken bakery extraction, complaints about cleaning chemicals or missing noise controls can help establish fault. Breaching a regulation is not generally an automatic right to damages. Civil liability changed in 2013; older exposures need specialist assessment. Disease compensation claims go through the courts, not the employment tribunal.

Most employers must have employers’ liability insurance covering at least £5 million and make the certificate available. There are exemptions. If a former employer has closed, ask your solicitor or union legal service to investigate historic insurers that might meet the claim.

IIDB can pay without proof of fault

Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit, or IIDB, pays for disablement caused by qualifying work. Occupational asthma, dermatitis, vibration injuries and asbestos diseases are among those covered. Each disease has prescribed work conditions.

The 2026/27 rates include £46.78 a week at the 20% payment band and £233.90 at 100%. You normally need at least 14% assessed disablement. Assessments of 14% to 19% pay at the 20% rate. Some diseases have different rules: pneumoconiosis, including asbestosis, and byssinosis can qualify at 1%; diffuse mesothelioma is assessed at 100%. Occupational deafness needs at least 20% disablement and has strict hearing-loss and work-history tests.

You generally need employed-earner status in the work that caused the disease, or qualifying training. Genuinely self-employed work is excluded. The status section below explains why a contract label or PAYE deduction does not settle eligibility.

For a disease claim in Great Britain, use the BI100PD claim form. Send relevant medical evidence you already have, but do not delay while seeking a fresh report. Backdating is normally limited to three months, with narrower rules in some cases; occupational deafness payments cannot start before the claim date. Northern Ireland has a separate claim service.

Dust-disease payments when compensation is out of reach

The 1979 Act scheme

The Pneumoconiosis etc. (Workers’ Compensation) Act 1979 covers pneumoconiosis, including asbestosis and silicosis, byssinosis, diffuse mesothelioma, diffuse pleural thickening and asbestos-related primary lung cancer. Under its entitlement rules, every relevant employer must have ceased trading. IIDB entitlement is normally required, though there is provision for disablement below the usual benefit threshold. Starting a damages action, settling a damages claim or applying to DMPS can affect eligibility. Do not wait for the IIDB decision before asking about this payment. Northern Ireland has its own corresponding scheme.

The Diffuse Mesothelioma Payment Scheme

DMPS is for diffuse mesothelioma caused by qualifying UK occupational asbestos exposure where the responsible employer or insurer cannot be traced. Diagnosis must be on or after 25 July 2012; the normal application limit is three years from diagnosis. Civil-claim and other-payment conditions apply. The tariff depends on age at diagnosis.

The separate 2008 mesothelioma scheme

The same guidance explains the 2008 scheme for people unable to claim under the 1979 Act, including some self-employed or household asbestos exposures. UK exposure and other conditions apply. The normal deadline is 12 months from diagnosis. Earlier 1979 Act or 2008 payments can be deducted from a later DMPS award. Ask a specialist about application order.

Which diseases count?

A civil claim is not restricted to the benefit list. IIDB and employer reporting use different lists, each with its own exposure conditions.

For IIDB, flour exposure may qualify a bakery worker for occupational asthma; wet work and irritants may qualify a cleaner or carer for dermatitis. Actual tasks and exposure matter more than the job title.

RIDDOR requires employers in Great Britain to report specified diagnosed diseases with the relevant work link. These include dermatitis, occupational asthma, hand-arm vibration syndrome, certain hand or forearm conditions, occupational cancers and diseases caused by biological agents. Carpal tunnel syndrome is reportable with regular use of vibrating tools. Typing alone does not meet that reporting condition.

Ask your doctor to record the diagnosis and suspected work exposure, then give the employer the written diagnosis. Reporting conditions must still be met. Northern Ireland has separate RIDDOR regulations.

Should your employer have been checking your health?

Health surveillance means repeated checks for early signs of work-related harm. A cleaner might need skin checks, a bakery worker lung checks, and a tool user vibration-health checks. Noise, asbestos, lead and ionising radiation have their own requirements.

Checks do not replace prevention. Employers must assess and control exposure, whether that means changing a cleaning product, repairing extraction or reducing machinery noise. Ask what will change before your next shift. Finding damage early is no excuse for leaving the cause in place.

Surveillance is not required for every hazard. COSHH covers specified exposures and circumstances where an identifiable disease is linked to exposure, harm is reasonably likely and a valid, low-risk detection method exists. Employers should obtain competent advice; a trained responsible person can perform some routine checks.

For noise, the duty depends on risk, not one universal decibel cut-off. Daily or weekly exposure action values are 80 and 85 dB(A); workers regularly exposed above the upper action value, or otherwise at risk, need hearing surveillance. The hand-arm vibration action value is 2.5 m/s² and the limit is 5 m/s², both expressed as an eight-hour daily exposure, A(8). These are exposure measures, not a machine’s instantaneous reading. Where checks were legally required but absent, that can support evidence of negligence.

What to do now

1. Get medical help. Tell your GP what you handle, breathe or hear at work, when symptoms started and whether they change on days off. Ask for the diagnosis and suspected work link to be recorded. Do not postpone urgent treatment to gather evidence.
2. Report in writing. Send the diagnosis to your manager or the agency and hirer, if both are involved. Ask what exposure controls will change and whether the disease is reportable. Keep a copy you can access outside work.
3. Build your evidence file. Note every relevant employer, dates, tasks, products and machinery. Save rotas, payslips, photographs of symptoms and messages about faulty controls. Ask witnesses for contact details, with their agreement.
4. Request records and get advice. Ask for relevant risk assessments, exposure monitoring, your health-surveillance records and the reporting reference if a RIDDOR report was made. Speak to your union legal service or a disease specialist about the civil deadline, and check IIDB without waiting for the employer’s response.

Your employer’s health record is not the same as confidential clinical notes. Ask the occupational health provider separately for your medical records. Keep requests and replies. Missing records matter, but do not wait for a complete file before taking legal advice.

Can they sack you or cut your shifts for speaking up?

Legal protection exists, but not every complaint automatically qualifies. In Great Britain, section 44 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 protects employees in specified health and safety situations. For an employee raising harmful conditions, the reporting protection includes conditions about whether there is a safety representative or committee and whether using that route is reasonably practicable. Employees and other workers also have protection against detriment for leaving or taking appropriate protective steps over danger they reasonably believe is serious and imminent.

Dismissal for a reason covered by section 100 can be automatically unfair without minimum service, but that right is employee-specific. Whistleblowing protection covers a wider group, including many agency workers, where its tests are met. Ask which protection fits your report.

If the illness amounts to a disability, the Equality Act 2010 can require reasonable adjustments in Great Britain. Depending on the circumstances, these might include different gloves, changed duties or redeployment away from an exposure. Disability discrimination can also make a dismissal unlawful. Northern Ireland uses separate disability and employment legislation.

If shifts disappear after your report, save both rotas and the messages. Contact Acas in Great Britain or the Labour Relations Agency in Northern Ireland. If your visa depends on the employer, get immigration advice too. Legal protection cannot guarantee your shifts or sponsorship.

What you live on while you are off

From 6 April 2026, Statutory Sick Pay is the lower of £123.25 a week or 80% of average weekly earnings for eligible employees. It is paid from the first qualifying day of sickness, with the old waiting days and lower earnings limit removed. The maximum is 28 weeks. Agency and casual staff can qualify if they meet the SSP employment conditions.

For example, an eligible employee with average weekly earnings of £100 gets £80 for a full qualifying week, not £123.25. Amara’s £220 earnings give her the flat rate instead. Check contractual sick pay too. Ask a benefits adviser how IIDB, sick pay and Universal Credit would interact in your circumstances; do not assume every payment simply adds to the others.

If you cannot afford to stop work, tell your GP and adviser. You need a treatment and income plan, not a lecture about being more careful. Continuing to work while ill does not by itself defeat a claim.

Agency, zero-hours and self-employed workers

An agency or hirer may owe you a duty of care even if you are not its employee. Agency and zero-hours staff can qualify for IIDB and SSP, but PAYE alone is not a complete test. Some agency arrangements count as employed-earner work despite a self-employed label. Genuine self-employed work does not qualify for IIDB or SSP. Employment-law “worker” status and benefit status are different questions. Check who controls the job, sets the rate and supplies equipment, and whether you can genuinely send a substitute. Read our status guide and get advice.

Who can help, and where to report unsafe work

Start with your union representative and ask about occupational disease legal help. Usdaw organises retail and distribution; UNISON and GMB cover many care, cleaning and NHS support jobs; Unite covers food manufacturing and logistics; IWGB organises in parts of gig work and outsourced work. Legal assistance depends on the union’s rules. Joining now does not guarantee cover for an existing claim.

Without union help, Citizens Advice or a law centre can help with benefits and finding legal advice. Ask a specialist solicitor whether they offer a conditional fee agreement. “No win, no fee” does not necessarily mean no deductions or no costs risk. Get the terms, success fee and insurance arrangements explained before signing.

If unsafe exposure continues or the employer will not address a reporting concern, contact HSE or the relevant local authority in Great Britain. Responsibility depends on the workplace and activity. Shops and hospitality are commonly local-authority enforced; care settings are not all allocated to the same regulator. In Northern Ireland, contact HSENI or the relevant district council. An enforcement complaint does not award you compensation or stop a claim deadline.

Questions people ask

Does the three-year clock start with exposure?

Not necessarily. In England and Wales, it normally runs from injury or legal date of knowledge, whichever is later. Knowledge can include what you reasonably should have known. Do not assume diagnosis is the start date; get the deadline checked.

Can you claim IIDB if the employer did nothing wrong?

Yes, if the disease, work and disablement conditions are met. IIDB does not require employer fault. You can apply even if a civil case is uncertain.

What if the old employer shut down?

Ask about historic insurance and, for qualifying dust diseases, lump-sum schemes. Get advice before applying or starting court proceedings, because the rules interact.

Will reporting protect your shifts or visa?

Qualifying safety reports, whistleblowing and disability protections can give you legal remedies, not a guarantee against retaliation. Keep evidence and seek advice promptly. Sponsorship problems need immigration advice too.

Do you need a solicitor for every route?

No. You can apply for IIDB yourself, with benefits or union advice if needed. Civil disease claims usually need specialist legal and medical assessment. Ask about funding before instructing a solicitor.

What about stress or Long COVID?

Civil claims are not confined to the IIDB list, but duty, breach and medical causation still matter. Stress symptoms alone do not establish a psychiatric injury claim. Long COVID does not automatically qualify for IIDB or disability protection. Read our stress claims and Long COVID guides.

Sources

1. Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, legislation.gov.uk.
2. Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013, section 69: civil liability, legislation.gov.uk.
3. Limitation Act 1980, section 11, section 14 and section 33, legislation.gov.uk.
4. Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973 and Limitation (Northern Ireland) Order 1989, legislation.gov.uk.
5. Employers’ liability insurance guide, HSE.
6. Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit, rates and claim forms, GOV.UK.
7. Industrial injuries disablement benefits technical guidance, DWP. Disease conditions, assessment exceptions and backdating.
8. Pneumoconiosis etc. (Workers’ Compensation) Act 1979, section 2, legislation.gov.uk.
9. Mesothelioma payments: 2008 scheme and DMPS eligibility, GOV.UK.
10. COSHH Regulations 2002, regulation 11, legislation.gov.uk.
11. Noise: employer duties and hand-arm vibration regulations, HSE.
12. Reportable occupational diseases, HSE.
13. Employment Rights Act 1996, section 44 and section 100, legislation.gov.uk.
14. Equality Act 2010, legislation.gov.uk.
15. Employment tribunal time limits, Acas. Updated 1 October 2026, including transitional rules.
16. Unfair dismissal rights: scheduled changes, Department for Business and Trade.
17. Statutory Sick Pay: what you will get and 2026/27 employer rates and thresholds, GOV.UK.
18. Workplace health report: a universal right to a healthy workplace, Royal Society for Public Health, 2024. Source for 47% and over 10 million workers without workplace health support.
19. Health and safety statistics, 2024/25, HSE. Source for 1.9 million workers with work-related ill health and around 11,000 annual lung-disease deaths.
20. Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit in Northern Ireland, nidirect; RIDDOR Northern Ireland guidance, HSENI; Northern Ireland dust-disease compensation scheme, Department for Communities.
21. Report a health and safety issue, HSE.