Are you an employee?

What your employer needs to do

Employers are responsible for ensuring that employees receive immediate attention if they are taken ill or are injured at work. Accidents and illness can happen at any time and first aid can save lives and prevent minor injuries from becoming major ones.

Your employer is expected to have:

• completed a first-aid needs assessment
• ensured that there is either an appointed person to take charge of first-aid arrangements or there are appropriate numbers of suitably trained first-aiders
• ensure there are adequate facilities and a suitably stocked first aid kit
• provided you with information about the first-aid arrangements

This page has some answers to specific questions regarding employees and first aid. If you have any other queries, please refer to the frequently asked questions section of the site.

First aid arrangements will depend on the particular circumstances of your workplace and these need to be assessed to identify what your first-aid needs are.

As a minimum, your employer must have:

• a suitably stocked first aid kit
• an appointed person to take charge of first-aid arrangements
• information for all employees giving details of first-aid arrangements

What an employee should do

Whilst an employee does not have specific duties relating to first aid at work it may be helpful to your employer to be aware of any health issues that you have in order that they can be considered in the first aid needs assessment. An employer cannot make provision for things of which they are not aware.

Where you may require urgent medication for a pre-existing condition eg a spray for angina, or an auto-injector for a serious allergy, you should consider informing your employer. With your permission an employer can ensure that any trained first aiders are aware and receive any additional training necessary to ensure your care, should you be taken ill at work.

First-aiders

If your employer has decided that your workplace requires first-aiders they must have been trained to an appropriate level by a competent training provider.

More detailed information can be found in our leaflet First aid at work: Your questions answered.

Accidents and ill health at work

Under health and safety law, employers must report and keep a record of certain injuries, incidents and cases of work-related disease.

RIDDOR (the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013) puts duties on employers, the self-employed and people in control of work premises (the Responsible Person) to report certain serious workplace accidents, occupational diseases and specified dangerous occurrences (near misses).You can find out which ones must be reported and how to report them on our report an incident pages.

Keeping records helps employers identify patterns of accidents and injuries, and help in completing there risk assessment. Your employer's insurance company may also want to see these records if there is a work-related claim.