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View full libraryThis First Aid Policy provides a practical framework for establishing, maintaining and reviewing adequate and appropriate first-aid arrangements in the workplace. It covers trained first aiders, equipment, training, shift and site coverage, incident reporting and the records needed to demonstrate that first-aid provision has been properly assessed.
Use this policy to:
If you are reviewing your workplace safety arrangements, these health and safety policy templates give you a practical set of policies covering responsibilities, risk assessment, implementation, training and review.
This template brings together the key information, sections and considerations you need to create a clear, comprehensive and professional HR document. Preview the document below.
1 Purpose
1.1 To set out how [Company] identifies, trains and records trained first aiders, and how adequate and appropriate first-aid provision is maintained across all sites, buildings, work areas and shifts.
1.2 This policy is intended to ensure that appropriate first-aid assistance is available to employees and, where appropriate, other people who may be affected by the organisation's activities in the event of injury or illness at work.
2 Scope
2.1 This policy applies to all employees, contractors and visitors at [location(s)].
2.2 The organisation will consider the presence and needs of contractors, visitors and other non-employees when assessing its overall first-aid arrangements where this is appropriate to the circumstances of the workplace.
3 To be completed
| Organisation / company name | [Company] |
| Workplace / site(s) | [Location(s)] |
| Number of employees | |
| Number of buildings / work areas | |
| Number of trained first aiders required per building | |
| Number of trained first aiders required per shift | |
| First-aid training course | FAW / EFAW / Other: |
| Training provider | [Provider(s)] |
| Certificate validity period | Three years / Other: |
| Renewal / requalification process | |
| Annual refresher training arrangements | |
| First-aid equipment locations | |
| Person responsible for checking equipment | |
| Incident reporting process | |
| Incident recording system | |
| System used to record first-aider qualifications | Alfred |
4 Current trained first aiders
| Name | Location / building | Shift | Qualification | Provider | Certificate date | Expiry date | Recorded in Alfred |
| Yes / No | |||||||
| Yes / No | |||||||
| Yes / No | |||||||
| Yes / No |
5 General principles
5.1 First-aid needs assessment
5.1.1 [Company] will complete a first-aid needs assessment to determine the first-aid equipment, facilities and trained personnel required for its workplace.
5.1.2 The assessment will consider the nature of the work, workplace hazards, foreseeable injuries and illness, workforce size and distribution, accident history, working patterns, shift arrangements, absence of first aiders, emergency-service access and the presence of contractors, visitors and other relevant people.
5.1.3 The organisation will also consider whether employees work across multiple buildings, production units, floors or other separated areas and whether this could affect the time taken for a first aider to reach an injured or ill person.
The assessment should be documented so that the organisation can demonstrate
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This First Aid Policy helps an employer turn the general legal requirement to provide adequate and appropriate first-aid arrangements into a practical workplace system. It is designed to be adapted to the employer's actual workforce, buildings, working patterns, hazards and first-aid needs assessment rather than relying on a one-size-fits-all number of first aiders.
The policy explains how the organisation should consider the nature of its work, workplace hazards, workforce size and distribution, accident history, working patterns, shift arrangements, absence of first aiders, emergency-service access and the presence of visitors, contractors and other non-employees when deciding what first-aid provision is required.
HSE provides suggested levels of first-aid provision based on workforce size and the level of workplace hazard. The policy explains how these figures can be used as a starting point while recognising that the actual provision may need to be higher where employees are spread across separate buildings or work areas, where there are multiple shifts or where the risks of injury require additional cover.
A worked example is included for a manufacturing business with 90 employees across three production units, comprising 60 employees in Unit 1, 10 in Unit 2 and 20 in Unit 3. The example demonstrates why total headcount alone should not determine first-aid provision and how the location and distribution of employees should be considered.
The policy covers appropriate first-aid training, training providers, certificate validity, requalification, annual refresher training and the recording of qualifications. It also provides for named first aiders to be recorded within the organisation's chosen HR or employee management system.
The policy sets out responsibilities for maintaining first-aid equipment, communicating arrangements, responding to emergencies, recording incidents and reviewing provision. It also provides a framework for reviewing the arrangements when there are changes to the workforce, workplace, processes, risks or working patterns.
Use these best practice actions, recommended timescales and process stages to understand when and how the First aid policy should be used, helping ensure each step is handled consistently and appropriately documented.
Understand the common mistakes to avoid when using this HR template, helping you reduce risk, prevent unnecessary costs and ensure the process is handled correctly.
There is no single statutory ratio that applies to every workplace. The employer must provide adequate and appropriate first-aid arrangements based on its circumstances. HSE provides suggested numbers which can be used as a starting point, but the needs assessment should take account of factors such as workplace risk, employee numbers, layout, shifts and absences.
For a higher-hazard workplace, HSE's suggested starting point for more than 50 employees is at least one FAW-trained first aider for every 50 employees or part thereof. For 90 employees, this indicates two as a starting point. However, if the 90 employees are spread across three separate production units, the needs assessment may identify a requirement for additional coverage.
The first-aid arrangements should cover the periods when people are actually at work. Where the organisation operates multiple shifts, it should ensure that appropriate first-aid personnel are available during each shift and should consider holidays, sickness and other absences.
HSE states that FAW, EFAW and other appropriate first-aid training certificates are valid for three years. Requalification should be arranged before the certificate expires. HSE also strongly recommends annual refresher training during the three-year certification period.
Yes. Maintaining a central record makes it easier to monitor who is trained, which qualification they hold and when their certificate expires. The policy can be adapted to record this information in systems such as Alfred, including the employee's location and shift where this is relevant to first-aid cover.
HRDocBox templates are designed specifically for UK employers and combine practical workplace processes with relevant employment, health and safety and regulatory considerations. Using a structured template provides a starting point that can be customised to the organisation while reducing the risk of overlooking important areas of the policy.
We made a handful of changes for our own terminology and were then happy with the result. The policy gave us a useful basis for keeping our approach consistent.
How this content is developed and reviewed
The First aid policy template is developed using a practical HR methodology that considers current UK employment legislation, ACAS guidance, CIPD good practice and the real-world HR process it supports. Templates and supporting information are regularly reviewed and updated, with additional reviews triggered by significant changes to legislation, guidance or established HR practice, helping ensure each document remains practical, relevant and suitable for UK employers.
Darryl Horn, Chartered HR Director
Darryl is a Chartered HR professional with over 25 years' experience in senior HR and employee relations roles.
He has extensive practical experience of managing health and safety HR processes and founded hrdocbox to provide businesses with practical, professionally developed HR resources grounded in UK employment law and best practice.
HRDocBox has been creating practical UK HR documents since 2009.
"Darryl provides support and advice with excellent judgement, and has a strong understanding of people, policies and UK employment legislation."
"He is someone I trust; consistent, dependable, and committed to doing things properly."
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