How many first aiders does my workplace need?
There is no single legal number of first aiders that every UK workplace must have. The Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981 require you, as an employer, to provide 'adequate and appropriate' cover based on your own circumstances, worked out through a first-aid needs assessment. This guide explains how that works and walks through the numbers the HSE suggests for low and higher-hazard workplaces.
What the law actually requires
The Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981 place a duty on every employer to provide adequate and appropriate equipment, facilities and personnel so injured or ill employees get immediate help. The Regulations deliberately avoid fixed headcounts, because a quiet office and a busy warehouse face very different risks.
Instead, the law expects a judgement. The HSE's guidance (L74) explains you should assess your first-aid needs and provide cover that matches the risk. Following the guidance is not compulsory, but if you do you will normally be doing enough to comply.
One myth to clear up: since 1 October 2013 the HSE no longer approves first-aid training providers or qualifications. You will still see "HSE approved" in marketing, but it has not been accurate for over a decade. It is on you to choose competent, insured, awarding-body-checked trainers and keep evidence of that decision.
Step one: the needs assessment
A needs assessment is a structured look at what could go wrong and who would deal with it. The HSE suggests you consider:
- ✓the nature of your work and its hazards
- ✓the size of your organisation and how people are spread across sites, floors and shifts
- ✓your accident history and any employees with known health conditions
- ✓travelling, remote or lone workers, and how fast the emergency services could reach them
- ✓shift patterns, leave and sickness, so cover does not disappear when one person is away
- ✓whether members of the public or vulnerable people are on site
It need not be long, but it should be written down. A short record shows an inspector, insurer or tribunal that you thought it through.
Suggested numbers for low-hazard workplaces
Low-hazard means most offices, shops and similar. The HSE offers these as general suggestions, not rigid rules:
- ✓Fewer than 25 employees: at least one appointed person
- ✓25 to 50 employees: at least one trained Emergency First Aider (EFAW)
- ✓More than 50 employees: at least one FAW-trained first aider per 100 employed, or part thereof
An appointed person is not a first aider — they look after the first-aid box, keep records and call for help, but give no hands-on care. For anything beyond the very smallest teams, most employers train at least one qualified first aider regardless of the minimum.
Suggested numbers for higher-hazard workplaces
Higher-hazard includes construction, manufacturing, warehousing and work with dangerous machinery or substances:
- ✓Fewer than 5 employees: at least one appointed person
- ✓5 to 50 employees: at least one first aider trained in EFAW or FAW, depending on likely injuries
- ✓More than 50 employees: at least one FAW-trained first aider per 50 employed, or part thereof
Where your risk assessment flags specific hazards, you may need additional training on top of the standard course. The figures are a floor, not a ceiling.
Turning numbers into real cover
The headline figure is only the start. A single first aider on paper is not adequate if that person is often off site, on leave or on a different shift. Good practice is to train enough people so cover is always physically present during working hours, across every location and shift, and to keep a live record of who is trained and when each certificate expires. This ongoing admin is exactly what AidReady removes: verified onsite trainers at an instant flat price, an audit-ready evidence pack, and renewals tracked so cover never quietly expires.
In short
The right number of first aiders is whatever your written needs assessment shows is adequate for your risks, size and shift patterns, using the HSE's suggested figures as a guide rather than a fixed rule.
Frequently asked questions
- Is there a legal minimum number of first aiders?
- No. The Regulations require 'adequate and appropriate' cover rather than a fixed number, and you decide what that means through a needs assessment. The HSE's suggested figures are guidance to help you comply, not a statutory quota.
- What is the difference between an appointed person and a first aider?
- An appointed person takes charge of arrangements, looks after equipment and calls for help, but has no first-aid training. A first aider holds a valid EFAW or FAW certificate and can give hands-on care. Only qualified first aiders count towards trained cover.
- Do I need to write the needs assessment down?
- There is no set format, but a written record is strongly advisable. It demonstrates to inspectors, insurers and, if it came to it, a tribunal that your provision was based on a genuine assessment of risk.
- Should I only train the bare minimum number?
- Usually not. The suggested figures assume your first aiders are always available, so most employers train extra people to cover leave, sickness and shifts, and to account for multiple floors or sites.
This guide is general information, not legal advice, and does not replace your own first-aid needs assessment or the current statutory framework. AidReady is not HSE-approved (no provider is since 2013); we book verified, insured, awarding-body-checked trainers.
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