# How many first-aiders does my business need?

Your working patterns and risks matter as much as the number of staff.

Jurisdiction: England, Wales, Scotland
Source check: 2026-11-03. Editorial status: source-checked draft; specialist sign-off pending.

## Who this covers
Employers, including small businesses. Consider each workplace, working hours, absences and lone workers.

## The requirement
Provide adequate first-aid equipment, facilities and personnel. Make sure employees know the arrangements.

## Practical steps
- Complete a first-aid needs assessment for your workforce and risks.
- Provide a stocked kit and someone to take charge of arrangements.
- Arrange trained first-aiders where your assessment identifies a need, including absence cover.

## Common mistake
There is no single staff-to-first-aider ratio that answers every situation. In some small low-risk workplaces an appointed person is sufficient; that is a different role from a trained first-aider.

## Timing
Review when the workforce, work or risks change and maintain suitable cover.

## Questions for a provider
- Which course meets the needs identified in our assessment?
- How do we cover shifts, holidays and sickness?
- How is the training provider competent?

## Official sources
- [HSE: what employers need to do about first aid](https://www.hse.gov.uk/firstaid/what-employers-need-to-do.htm)

General information, not an assessment or a statement that a business is compliant.


## Look at cover across the working week

### Before you commission work
Map the people present across shifts, sites, lone-working arrangements and planned leave. Identify who maintains supplies and communicates the arrangements. If purchasing training, explain the role you need the learner to fulfil and check that the course fits the assessed need.

### Follow through on the result
After training, update staff information and absence arrangements. Keep completion records and course details available to the person planning future cover. A place booked is not a qualification completed; follow up cancellations or unsuccessful completion before assuming the intended cover exists.

## Related buying guides
- [First aid training costs: choose the course and cover you need](https://whatcompliance.com/buying-guides/first-aid-training-costs)

## Buying the right work
- Assess the needs of the work before selecting a course.
- Check shift patterns, holidays, lone working and access to emergency help.
- Ask what the training equips someone to do and how you will maintain cover.

## What you can do yourself
An employer can assess their needs using HSE guidance. In some small, low-risk workplaces, a stocked kit and an appointed person may be enough. That role is different from a trained first-aider.

## When to get help
Higher-risk activities or more complex working arrangements may call for trained first-aiders and additional provision. Choose training that fits the assessed need.

## Records to keep
- The needs assessment and the arrangements chosen.
- Training details where relevant, and a plan for absence cover.
- How staff are told where to get first-aid help.

## Is there one legal first-aider ratio for all businesses?
No single staff ratio settles every workplace’s needs. Assess the hazards and working arrangements as well as employee numbers.

## Does an appointed person need first-aid training?
HSE says an appointed person does not need specific first-aid training. They take charge of arrangements, such as calling emergency services and looking after equipment; this is not the same role as a trained first-aider.

Source check for this expanded guide: 2026-11-03. Specialist sign-off pending.