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First Aid at Work - Employer Responsibilities

‘People at work can suffer injuries or fall ill. It doesn't matter whether the injury or the illness is caused by the work they do or not. What is important is that they receive immediate attention and that an ambulance is called in serious cases. First aid at work covers the arrangements you must make to ensure this happens. It can save lives and prevent minor injuries becoming major ones…’ - Health and Safety Executive

‘The Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981 require you to provide adequate and appropriate equipment, facilities and personnel to enable first aid to be given to your employees if they are injured or become ill at work…’ - Health and Safety Executive

The Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981 do not oblige employers to provide first aid for members of the public. However, many organisations provide a service for others, for example shops and places of entertainment, and HSE strongly recommends that employers include the public and others on their premises when making their assessment of first aid needs.

In the table below the HSE suggests how many first aiders or appointed persons might be needed in relation to categories of risk and number of employees.

Category of risk
Numbers employed at any location
Suggested number of first-aid personnel
Lower risk eg shops and offices, libraries
Fewer than 50
 At least one appointed person
 
50-100
At least one first aider
 
More than 100
 One additional first aider for every 100 employed
Medium risk eg light engineering and assembly work, food processing, warehousing
Fewer than 20
 At least one appointed person
 
20-100
 At least one first aider for every 50 employed (or part thereof)
 
More than 100
 One additional first aider for every 100 employed
Higher risk eg most construction, slaughter houses, chemical manufacture, extensive work with dangerous machinery or sharp instruments
Fewer than 5
 At least one appointed person
 
5-50
 At least one first aider
 
More than 50
 One additional first aider for every 50 employed

First-aid personnel should be available at all times people are at work, based on assessments of risk and number of workers. Where there are special circumstances, such as remoteness from emergency medical services, shiftwork, or sites with several separate buildings, there may need to be more first-aid personnel than set out below. Increased provision will be necessary to cover for absences.

 

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