Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981 Explained

The Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981 require every employer in Great Britain to provide adequate and appropriate first aid equipment, facilities and people, so that staff who are injured or fall ill at work get help straight away. You must also tell your employees what the arrangements are. What counts as adequate is for you to decide, through a first aid needs assessment.

The Regulations are short. Most of the practical detail sits in HSE's guidance, known as L74. Here is what each key regulation says, what changed in 2013, and where employers slip up.

The Regulations at a glance

The Regulations came into force on 1 July 1982 and are still in force, with several amendments. They apply to every workplace in Great Britain, including, HSE says, businesses with fewer than five employees. Regulation 7 carves out settings with their own rules, such as diving, ships, offshore installations, certain mines and the armed forces. The full text, as amended, is on legislation.gov.uk.

What each regulation requires

Regulation 2: what "first aid" means

First aid has two parts in law: treatment to preserve life and reduce the effects of an injury or illness until a doctor or nurse takes over, and treating minor injuries that would otherwise get no treatment or don't need a doctor or nurse. A colleague collapsing in the corridor, or a cut finger in the kitchen.

Regulation 3(1): equipment and facilities

You must provide equipment and facilities that are "adequate and appropriate in the circumstances". For most workplaces that means at least a suitably stocked first aid kit. A first aid room is only needed if your assessment shows it. Since 2002, regulation 3(5) says any first aid room must be easy to reach with a stretcher and signposted.

Regulation 3(2): first-aiders

You must provide enough suitable people to give first aid to your employees. A person only counts as suitable if they have the training and qualifications that are appropriate in the circumstances. This wording was rewritten on 1 October 2013.

Regulation 3(3) and 3(4): the appointed person

If a first-aider is away in temporary and exceptional circumstances, you can appoint someone to take charge of the situation and the equipment until they return. Where the nature of the work, the number of employees and the location make it adequate, that person can replace first-aiders altogether. HSE calls this role the appointed person. Our guide to the appointed person for first aid covers it in detail.

Regulation 4: telling your staff

You must tell employees about your first aid arrangements, including where the equipment, facilities and people are. L74 suggests notices at each site, first aid in induction, and help for staff with reading or language difficulties.

Regulation 5: the self-employed

Since 1 October 2015, this duty applies to "relevant" self-employed people: those whose work falls into prescribed categories such as construction, agriculture, gas work, asbestos and railways. They must have adequate equipment to give first aid to themselves.

The 2013 change: HSE stepped back from training

From 1 October 2013, HSE stopped approving first aid training and qualifications. Choosing a provider is now down to you as the employer.

HSE describes several routes, including regulated qualifications from an awarding organisation recognised by the qualifications regulator in each nation, and independent providers who can show they meet the standard. Whichever you choose, L74 says you should be confident about the course content, the trainers and assessors, and the provider's quality assurance. Writing down your checks isn't required, but it helps show your reasoning.

L74: the guidance behind the Regulations

L74, First aid at work: Guidance on Regulations, is HSE's main guidance. The current third edition was published in 2013 and reissued with minor amendments in 2018 and 2024. Since 2013 it has been guidance only; the older code of practice was withdrawn. The points managers use most:

• Course length: HSE says Emergency First Aid at Work (EFAW) involves at least six hours of training over at least one day, and First Aid at Work (FAW) at least 18 hours over at least three days.
• Certificates: they last three years. The FAW requalification course lasts two days. Once a certificate expires, that person no longer counts as a workplace first-aider until they requalify. See how long a first aid certificate lasts.
• Refreshers: HSE strongly recommends a half-day annual refresher. It isn't mandatory.
• Numbers: there are no fixed numbers. L74 says that where 25 or more people are employed, even in a low-hazard workplace, at least one first-aider should be provided. Our guide on how many first-aiders you need sets out HSE's suggested figures.
• 2024 changes: the latest reissue stresses that your needs assessment should consider mental health, and adds guidance on life-threatening bleeding.

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland has its own equivalent: the Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1982, enforced by HSENI. The duties are similar, and HSENI says the minimum is an appointed person and a suitably stocked first aid kit. HSENI stopped approving first aid training providers in October 2017 and now points employers to HSE's L74 guidance. See HSENI's first aid at work page.

What it means in care homes, schools and offices

• Care homes and supported living: the Regulations cover your staff, not the people you support, though HSE strongly recommends including non-employees in your assessment. Residents' safety falls under care regulation: in England, CQC's Regulation 12 (safe care and treatment); elsewhere, the Care Inspectorate, CIW and RQIA. Round-the-clock services need cover on every shift.
• Schools and children's services: pupils aren't employees either. L74 notes first-aiders may need extra training, such as paediatric first aid.
• Offices: usually low hazard. For fewer than 25 staff, HSE suggests at least one appointed person; for 25 to 50, at least one first-aider trained in Emergency First Aid at Work.

Common mistakes

• Assuming small teams are exempt. The duty applies whatever your headcount.
• Using the appointed person to cover holidays. HSE says annual leave doesn't count as exceptional absence.
• Looking for an HSE stamp on a course. There hasn't been one since 2013.
• Letting certificates lapse. Requalify before the three years are up.
• Planning for nine to five only. Nights, weekends and lone workers need cover too.
• Keeping tablets in the kit. HSE says tablets and medicines shouldn't be kept in the first aid box.

How Kasorb can help

If your needs assessment calls for fully trained first-aiders, our First Aid at Work course is the full three-day course for higher-risk workplaces and larger teams. It covers everything in Emergency First Aid at Work, plus fractures, head and spinal injuries, burns, poisoning, and medical emergencies such as heart attack, stroke, asthma and diabetes. The content follows the HSE First Aid at Work syllabus.

We run it on site anywhere in the UK for up to 12 staff, at one flat rate for the group. Everyone completes seven practical assessments and multiple-choice theory papers. You can choose a Kasorb certificate, valid for three years and emailed the day after the final day, or the Qualsafe Level 3 Award in First Aid at Work (RQF) if your policy asks for a regulated qualification. Your trainer has used these skills for real.

This guide summarises the law and guidance; it isn't legal advice.

FAQs

What do the Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981 require?

They require employers to provide adequate and appropriate first aid equipment, facilities and people so employees get immediate help if they are injured or fall ill at work. Employers must also tell staff about the arrangements. Your first aid needs assessment decides what adequate means for your workplace.

Do the first aid regulations apply to small businesses?

Yes. HSE says the Regulations apply to all workplaces, including those with fewer than five employees. A small, low-hazard workplace may only need a suitably stocked first aid kit and an appointed person, but it still needs to assess its needs and make arrangements.

Do employers have to provide first aid for members of the public?

Not under these Regulations, which cover employees only. HSE strongly recommends including visitors, residents, pupils and other non-employees in your needs assessment. In care settings, the people you support are also protected by care regulation, such as CQC's Regulation 12 in England.

Does HSE still sign off first aid training providers?

No. HSE stopped approving first aid training and qualifications on 1 October 2013. Employers now choose a provider themselves and should check the course content, the trainers and the provider's quality assurance. In Northern Ireland, HSENI made the same change in October 2017.

What is L74?

L74 is HSE's guidance on the first aid regulations, titled First aid at work: Guidance on Regulations. The third edition was published in 2013 and reissued with minor amendments in 2018 and 2024. It explains needs assessments, first-aiders, appointed persons, kits and training.