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What employers need to do

You must make appropriate first-aid arrangements for your workplace. In doing so you should consider the circumstances of your workplace, workforce and the health and safety risks that may be present to help you decide what arrangements you need to put in place.

Some small low-risk workplaces need to have only a first-aid box and a person appointed to take charge of first-aid arrangements such as calling the emergency services and stocking the first-aid box. The appointed person does not need specific first-aid training.

If your workplace has more significant health and safety risks, for example you use machinery or hazardous materials then you are more likely to need a trained first-aider.

You must provide all your employees with details of the first-aid arrangements.

First aid training for the security industry

The Security Industry Authority (SIA) provides guidance on first aid training requirements for door supervisors and security guards^[1].

First-aid arrangements

Your arrangements will depend on the outcome of your first-aid needs assessment and the particular circumstances in your workplace at any given time.

The findings of the needs assessment should indicate the level of first-aid equipment, facilities and personnel required.

As a minimum, you 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.

Where your needs assessment identifies workplace or workforce issues, or more significant health and safety risks, you are likely to need a sufficient number of appropriately trained first aiders and may need to arrange additional equipment and facilities.

First-aiders

You might decide that you need a first-aider. This is someone who has been trained by a competent first aid training provider in first aid at work, emergency first aid at work, or some other appropriate level of training (identified by your needs assessment).

If you have identified that you need first-aiders HSE has produced guidance to help you select a competent first aid training provider^[2]. 

Certificates from Northern Ireland

A member of staff may have done their first aid training – and had their certificate for regulatory purposes issued in Northern Ireland. Both First aid at Work and Emergency First Aid at Work certificates issued by HSE Northern Ireland approved first aid training providers can be recognised by employers in GB as an equivalent to the GB qualifications of the same name, without undertaking any due diligence.

Overseas certificates

A member of staff may have done their first aid training – and had their certificate for regulatory purposes issued in another country outside Great Britain. You will need to make checks that the syllabus content and the standards of training are appropriate and meet the criteria set by HSE.

Appointed persons

Where your first-aid needs assessment identifies that a first-aider is not required, you must appoint a person to take charge of the first-aid arrangements, including looking after the equipment and facilities, and calling the emergency services when required. An appointed person is not required to have any formal training.

It is important that someone is always available to take charge of the first-aid arrangements, including looking after the equipment and facilities and calling the emergency services when required. Arrangements should be made for an appointed person to be available to undertake these duties at all times when people are at work.

Equipment

The minimum level of first-aid equipment you may need is a suitably stocked first-aid box.  (First-aid kit.) You should provide at least one first-aid kit for each workplace, although more than one might be required on larger sites. Each kit should be stocked with a sufficient quantity of first-aid materials suitable for the particular circumstances of your workplace.

First-aid kits should be made easily accessible. The contents of first-aid kit should be checked frequently and restocked soon after any use.

Your needs assessment may indicate that additional materials and equipment are required eg foil blankets, cleansing wipes, cutting shears. These may be kept in the first-aid kit if there is room, or stored separately.

HSE has published further guidance on first aid equipment (PDF) ^[3] which gives advice on the minimum contents of a first-aid kit.

Facilities

You may need to provide a suitable first-aid room where your needs assessment identifies that one is required. This will usually be necessary in larger premises or where higher hazards are present. The room should be easily accessible and a designated person should be given responsibility for supervising it.

Wherever possible, a first-aid room should be reserved exclusively for the purposes of first aid.

• First-aid rooms should:
• be large enough to hold an examination/medical couch;
• have washable surfaces and adequate heating, ventilation and lighting;
• be kept clean, tidy, accessible and available for use at all times when employees are at work;
• ideally, have a sink with hot and cold running water;
• be positioned as near as possible to a point of access for transport to hospital.

First aid rooms should display a notice on the door advising of the names, locations and, if appropriate, contact details for first-aiders. This information should also be displayed in other appropriate places.

HSE has published further guidance on equipment and facilities (PDF) ^[4] that you may require in a first aid room.

Accidents and ill health

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

You can find out which ones must be reported and how to report them on our report an incident pages.

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).

Keeping records will help you to identify patterns in the incidence of accidents and injuries, and will help when completing your risk assessment. Your insurance company may also want to see your records if there is a work-related claim.

First aid needs assessment

In order to establish what provision for first-aid is required you should make an assessment of the first-aid needs appropriate to the circumstances of your business.

This should include consideration of:

• the workplace,
• the workforce, and
• the hazards and risks present.

What to include in your needs assessment

HSE cannot tell you what provision you should make for first aid. You, as an employer, are best placed to understand the exact nature of your workplace and decide what you need to provide.

First aid provision must be 'adequate and appropriate in the circumstances'. This means that you must provide sufficient first aid equipment (first aid kit), facilities and personnel at all times.

In order to decide what provision you need to make you should undertake a first-aid needs assessment. This assessment should consider the circumstances of your workplace, workforce and the hazards and risks that may be present. The findings will help you decide what first-aid arrangements you need to put in place.

In assessing your first-aid needs, you should consider:

• the nature of the work you do
• workplace hazards and risks (including specific hazards requiring special arrangements)
• the nature and size of your workforce
• the work patterns of your staff
• holiday and other absences of those who will be first-aiders and appointed persons
• your organisation's history of accidents or incidents

You may also need to consider:

• the needs of travelling, remote and lone workers
• the distribution of your workforce
• the remoteness of any of your sites from emergency medical services
• whether your employees work on shared or multi-occupancy sites
• first-aid provision for non-employees (eg members of the public).

HSE has published further guidance (PDF) ^[6] on all the factors above that will help you carry out your first-aid needs assessment.

Mental ill health and first aid

Following your employers' first aid needs assessment; you might decide that it will be beneficial to have personnel trained to identify and understand symptoms and able to support someone who might be experiencing a mental health issue.

You should consider ways to manage mental ill health in your workplace which are appropriate for your business, such as providing information or training for managers and employees, employing occupational health professionals, appointing mental health trained first aiders and implementing employee support programmes.

If you have determined that first aiders trained in either Emergency First Aid at Work (EFAW) or First Aid at Work (FAW) are appropriate for your workplace, you might decide that their training and skills already enable them to provide initial support and reassurance to an employee experiencing an acute mental health episode. You should be satisfied that they know how to access professional help if necessary and can act promptly, safely and effectively until that help is available. You should consider if any further training is required.

First aid training courses that provide additional training in  mental health, teach delegates how to recognise warning signs of mental ill health and help them to develop the skills and confidence to approach and support someone, while keeping themselves safe.

There is a wide range of training providers offering mental health awareness or first aid training and details of available training that best meets the needs of your organisation can be found by conducting a simple internet search.

It is important that anyone with first aid responsibilities in your workplace is clear what their role is and that this is effectively communicated to all relevant workers and managers.

See further information on managing workplace stress and mental health issues^[7].

You do not need to record the findings of your needs assessment, but you may find it useful to do so, as it will demonstrate how you have decided on the first-aid provision that you make.

The minimum requirement in terms of personnel is to appoint a person to take charge of first-aid arrangements. The roles of this appointed person include looking after the first-aid equipment and facilities and calling the emergency services when required. The appointed person can also provide emergency cover, within their role and competence, where a first-aider is absent due to unforeseen circumstances. An appointed person is not required to have any formal training.

If your workplace has more significant health and safety risks, for example you use machinery or hazardous materials then you are more likely to need a trained first-aider.

There are no hard and fast rules on exact numbers, and you will need to take into account all the relevant circumstances of your particular workplace.

Selection of a competent first-aid training organisation

Needs assessment

An employer will need to make an assessment of their first-aid needs to establish what you ought to provide. This will depend on your workplace, taking into account, among other things, the number of employees, size, location and work activity. 

The findings of your first-aid needs assessment may identify that trained first-aiders are required. There are no hard and fast rules on exact numbers of trained first-aiders you will require, and you will need to take into account all the relevant circumstances of your particular workplace.

What an employer needs to do

As an employer there are a number of options open to you when selecting a training provider. You should select the most appropriate for your requirements.

Depending on your choice you will need to carry out due diligence (reasonable enquiry or investigation) into how a provider will deliver the training you require.

HSE cannot advise on the quality of individual training providers or the service they provide. Similarly HSE cannot advise on the standard of quality assurance systems that a training provider may have in place.

Criteria expected of first-aid training providers

HSE has produced guidance on selecting a first-aid training provider^[8] that sets out the criteria that a competent training provider should be able to demonstrate.