You may be legally required to provide first aid provision in your workplace. Under legislation, all employers must provide a safe working environment for their employees which includes providing the provision of first aiders. Having the correct first aid provision in your workplace is incredibly important for the safety of your employees.

As an employer, your responsibility is to your employees, but it is also good practice to offer first aid provision to members of the public or visitors that are on your premises.

Calculating how many first aiders you need?

To help you assess how many first aiders you need why not check out the first aid requirements calculator on our website to determine what would be an appropriate number of first aiders. The calculator has three simple steps to complete that only take a few minutes and it uses the latest HSE guidance to provide you with a bespoke report with a full breakdown of how many first aiders you need and the type of training required. These steps include details on your workplace areas, identifying your risks and produces a report with the details of the provision you need.

What determines how many first aiders you need?

Your business type and the level of risks or hazards within the business are some of the biggest influencers of the number of first aiders you will need. Workplaces such as retail and offices are deemed low-risk and the requirement is to have one first aider if you have over 25 employees and one per 100 employees. Although best practice is to have a first aider per floor or area.

Manufacturing, engineering and construction environments are classed as high-risk workplaces, and these require more first aiders. The requirement states that one first aider should be provided if you have more than five employees and you should have a minimum of one per 50 employees.

Some of the other factors you need to consider are the number of sites or buildings you have, the number of employees and the split of employees at these sites and how to provide provision at each location. Remember to factor in shift patterns, sickness and holiday leave. You should also consider whether you have members of the public or visitors onsite and if so include them within your provision.

Another important factor that is more essential now is the level of offsite or home workers as it can impact your provision in several ways. Firstly, whether you need to factor in offsite team provision. Secondly, whether you need to increase your pool of first aiders to ensure sufficient cover. You may also need to consider scheduling first aider attendance onsite to maintain minimum provision.

Advice and training

If you need further advice use our first aid requirements calculator. We offer a range of first aid courses for workplaces including requalification courses and emergency first aid courses that cater for all needs whether your business is classed as a low or high-risk business. Contact us to find out more.