Advantage First Aid - First aid training in the workplace

Legislation

The relevant regulations are the Health and Safety (First Aid) Regulations 1981. This guidance to the regulations sets out the difference between a 'first aider' and an 'appointed person':

In any company, the number and type of first aid personnel would be based on an assessment. In assessing need, employers need to consider:

workplace hazards and risks;
the size of the organisation;
the organisation's history of accidents;
the nature and distribution of the workforce;
the remoteness of the site from emergency medical services;
the needs of travelling, remote and lone workers;
employees working on shared or multi-occupied sites;
annual leave and other absences of first aiders and appointed person

Whilst the regulations do not give specific personnel numbers, the guidance does give suggested numbers of first aid personnel:

Category of risk	Numbers employed	Suggested number of first aid personnel
Lower risk e.g. shops, offices, libraries etc...	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 e.g. light engineering and assembly work, food processing, warehousing etc...	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 e.g. construction, slaughterhouses, chemical manufacture, extensive work with dangerous machinery or sharp instruments etc...	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


	The details above are suggestions only - they are not definitive nor are they a legal requirement. It is for you to assess your first-aid needs in the light of your particular circumstances. This information is taken directly from the Health & Safety Executive website. For additional information, be sure to check out the HSE official website link on our Links page.