How Many First Aiders Do I Need? UK Guide for Employers

The law doesn't give a fixed number. The Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981 require you to provide adequate and appropriate first aid, and what counts as adequate comes from your own first aid needs assessment. HSE does publish suggested minimums, though, and most employers start there.

HSE's suggested minimums

These are minimums for the people on site at any one time, not your total headcount on paper.

Why most workplaces need more than the table says

The table assumes your first aider is there whenever anyone else is. In practice they aren't, so your assessment should add cover for:

• Shifts: every shift needs its own cover, including nights and weekends.
• Holidays and sickness: one first aider with 28 days' leave leaves you uncovered for more than a month a year.
• Size and layout: several floors, separate buildings or a large site make it harder to reach someone quickly.
• Lone and remote workers: people who work away from base may need training themselves, or a way to call for help.
• Specific risks: chemicals, machinery, or people with known health conditions.
• Distance from emergency services: the further away an ambulance is, the more your first aiders need to do.

Appointed person, EFAW or FAW?

• Appointed person: takes charge when someone is injured or ill, looks after the first aid kit and calls the emergency services. They don't need first aid training, though many employers give it.
• Emergency First Aid at Work (EFAW): a one-day course covering the life-threatening emergencies, including CPR and using a defibrillator, choking, bleeding, shock and the unresponsive casualty. It suits lower-risk workplaces. See our EFAW course.
• First Aid at Work (FAW): a three-day course covering everything in EFAW plus fractures, head and spinal injuries, burns, poisoning and medical conditions such as asthma, diabetes and anaphylaxis. It suits higher-risk or larger workplaces. See our First Aid at Work course.

EFAW and FAW certificates last three years, and HSE strongly recommends an annual refresher in between to keep skills from fading.

Care homes, schools and nurseries

The First-Aid Regulations cover your employees, not the public. You have no legal duty to provide first aid for non-employees, but HSE strongly recommends you include them in your assessment, and in care, education and childcare settings they are usually the people most likely to need help.

• Care homes and supported living: staff who may need to respond to a resident who collapses or chokes need hands-on resuscitation training. Basic Life Support is the usual course, often alongside first aid for staff cover.
• Early years settings: Ofsted's early years framework requires at least one person with a full paediatric first aid certificate on the premises at all times when children are present, and on outings.

A quick example

A distribution warehouse has 120 staff over two shifts, with up to 70 on site at once. It's higher hazard, so the table suggests two FAW first aiders per shift (one per 50, or part thereof). Add cover for leave and sickness and a sensible plan is three FAW first aiders on each shift: six in total, before thinking about the office staff in the building next door.

Recording your decision

Write down how you reached your number: the hazards, the headcount by shift, the cover for absence, and who your first aiders are. If HSE or your insurer asks, that record is what shows your provision is adequate.

Kasorb trains first aiders at your workplace anywhere in the UK, at one flat rate for up to 12 staff, with certificates emailed the next day. For the wider legal picture, see our guide to mandatory health and safety training for employees.

FAQs

Is it a legal requirement to have a first aider?

Every workplace must have at least an appointed person to take charge of first aid arrangements. Whether you also need trained first aiders, and how many, depends on your first aid needs assessment.

Do I need a first aider if I only have a few employees?

Often not, in a lower-risk workplace: an appointed person, a stocked first aid kit and information for staff can be enough. Higher-risk work, lone working or a long way from emergency services may change that.

Can one first aider cover two buildings?

Only if they can reach anyone who needs them quickly. Separate buildings, floors or sites usually need their own cover.

Does a first aider have to be on site at all times?

Your assessment should make sure there is adequate cover whenever people are working, including shifts, holidays and sickness. That is why most employers train more first aiders than the minimum.

How long does a first aid certificate last?

EFAW and FAW certificates last three years. Staff need to retake the course, or the two-day FAW requalification, before the certificate expires.