What UK law actually requires
The Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981 apply to every workplace in Great Britain, regardless of size. As a minimum, every employer must provide a suitably stocked first-aid kit, an appointed person to take charge of first-aid arrangements, and information for all employees on what those arrangements are.
The appointed person does not need any formal first-aid training. Their job is to look after the kit and facilities and call the emergency services when needed, not to give first aid themselves. Whether you need to go further than that, and put trained first aiders in place, depends entirely on the outcome of your first-aid needs assessment.
The first-aid needs assessment, the real legal test
This is the part that actually decides your numbers, and it's on you as the employer to carry it out. According to HSE guidance, your assessment should consider:
- The nature of the work you do, and how hazardous it is
- Workplace hazards and risks, including anything needing special arrangements
- The nature and size of your workforce
- Work patterns and shift coverage
- Holiday and other absences of first aiders and appointed persons
- Your organisation's history of accidents or incidents
For larger or more spread-out operations, you should also factor in travelling or lone workers, how remote a site is from emergency medical services, whether you share a site with other employers, and whether you need to plan for non-employees such as customers or visitors.
The "1 in 50" rule of thumb, and why it isn't actually the law
You'll see this figure quoted all over the internet: roughly one trained first aider for every 50 employees in a low-risk workplace, tightening to around one for every 20 to 25 in a higher-risk one. It comes from older HSE guidance, and it's still a genuinely useful starting benchmark, but since HSE stopped approving first-aid training organisations and formal ratios in October 2013, there's no longer an official fixed number in force. The current position is needs-assessment first: the ratio is a sense check, not a rule you can rely on in isolation.
In practice, most safety-conscious employers still use something like the old benchmark as a first pass, then adjust up or down based on the specific factors above.
How this typically plays out by workplace type
| Workplace type | Typical risk category | Common starting point |
|---|---|---|
| Independent café, restaurant or bar | Lower risk | One EFAW-trained first aider per shift is a common baseline, more for larger sites or busier kitchens |
| Nursery or childcare setting | Lower to moderate risk | At least one first aider on-site at all times children are present, often with paediatric first aid rather than standard EFAW |
| Warehouse or light industrial site | Higher risk | FAW-trained first aiders, with numbers scaled to headcount and shift patterns rather than a single fixed ratio |
| Gym or leisure facility | Moderate risk | At least one trained first aider present during opening hours, reflecting the higher likelihood of physical injury |
None of these are legal minimums in themselves, they're the kind of starting point a needs assessment usually lands on for that type of site, before you adjust for your own specific circumstances.
What if you have zero trained first aiders right now?
If your needs assessment genuinely supports it, an appointed person with no formal training can be your entire first-aid provision, as long as someone is always available to take on that role whenever people are at work. Plenty of very small, low-risk businesses operate perfectly legally this way. The moment your needs assessment flags a higher-risk activity, a bigger team, or shift patterns that leave gaps, that's your signal to move to a trained first aider instead.
A quick way to run your own first-aid needs assessment
- List the specific hazards in your workplace, not just the general industry type
- Map your shift patterns and check there's always cover, including holidays
- Check your accident book or incident log for any patterns
- Note whether staff work alone, remotely, or across multiple sites
- Decide whether an appointed person is enough, or whether you need trained first aiders
- If you need training, work out whether EFAW or FAW fits your risk level
Once you know you need a first aider, EFAW or FAW?
This is where most of the actual decision-making happens day to day. We've written a full breakdown in EFAW vs FAW: which course does your business actually need, or you can jump straight to our course comparison page to see every option side by side. Whichever course you choose, the techniques themselves are kept short and memorable on purpose, see why first aid is designed to be simple, not complicated for the plain-English version.
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Frequently asked questions
Is it a legal requirement to have a trained first aider at work?
Not always. The minimum for any workplace is a stocked first-aid kit and an appointed person, who needs no formal training. Whether you need a trained first aider on top of that depends on your first-aid needs assessment.
How many first aiders do I need for 10 employees?
There's no fixed legal number for any headcount. For a low-risk workplace around this size, one trained first aider is a common starting point, but your own needs assessment, covering hazards, shift patterns and accident history, is what should actually decide it.
Can one appointed person cover first aid without any training?
Yes, where a needs assessment shows a trained first aider isn't required. An appointed person is not required to hold formal first aid training, though many employers train them anyway as good practice.
How do I decide between EFAW and FAW?
EFAW suits most lower-risk workplaces, FAW is aimed at higher-risk or larger sites, often 50 or more staff. Your needs assessment should point you to the right one, see our full EFAW vs FAW comparison for detail.