First Aid Update

First Aid Update

First aid at work: Guidance on regulations

This guidance is for employers. It sets out what you need to do to address first-aid provision in the workplace.

Publication:

2013 (as amended 2018 and 2024)

Series code:

L74 (Third edition)

Details

This document provides guidance on:

  • managing the provision of first aid (first-aid kit, equipment, rooms etc)
  • requirements and training for first-aiders
  • requirements for appointed persons
  • making employees aware of first-aid arrangements
  • first aid and the self-employed
  • cases where first-aid regulations do not apply

The third edition was reissued with minor amendments in 2018 to:

  • further clarify the significance of the 2013 amendment to regulation 3(2), which ended HSE’s approval of first-aid training providers
  • update guidance on the use of automated external defibrillators, and blended learning in first-aid training
  • incorporate some additional amendments to take account of other previous legislative changes

The third edition has been further updated with minor amendments in 2024 to:

  • emphasise employers’ responsibilities to take account of employees’ mental health in their first-aid needs assessment
  • change the term ‘catastrophic bleeding’ to ‘life-threatening bleeding’ with more guidance on what employers should do if they identify this as a risk in their workplace
  • simplify guidance on how to decide what first aid to provide