How many first aiders should I have in my business?

Immerse Medical offer the full range of workplace first aid courses and specialist courses for those working with children – You can book those courses here.

Following your first aid needs assessment you might decide that you need more than just an appointed person. This means that you will need to arrange for a number of your staff to undertake first aid training.

There are no hard and fast rules around the number of staff that you need to arrange training for, but your decision needs to take into account all of the elements that you considered when undertaking your first aid needs assessment.

The following table can be used as a guide, but make sure that you keep your businesses needs in mind as this is just a guide:

 

What degree of hazard is associated with your work activities?	How many employees do you have?	What first-aid personnel do you need?
Low-hazard e.g. offices, shops, libraries	Fewer than 25	At least one appointed person
	25-50	At least one first aider trained in EFAW
	More than 50	At least one first aider trained in FAW for every 100 employees (or part thereof)
Higher-hazard e.g. light engineering and assembly work, food processing, warehousing, extensive work with dangerous machinery or sharp instruments, construction, chemical manufacture	Fewer than 5	At least one appointed person
	5-50	At least one first aider trained in EFAW or FAW depending on the type of injuries that might occur
	More than 50	At least one first aider trained in FAW for every 50 employees (or part thereof)

You will also need to think about any specific requirements in your workplace, such as:

• higher level hazards, such as chemicals, confined spaces or dangerous machinery
• if children are present in your workplace
• planned absences like holidays

If you’re not sure what training is most suitable for your team, get in touch, we’d be more than happy to talk it over with you.