Understanding Your Obligations for 2025

As businesses across the UK and Ireland look ahead to 2025, ensuring compliance with health and safety regulations remains a paramount concern. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) First Aid at Work regulations dictate the minimum provisions employers must make to ensure their employees receive immediate attention if they are injured or taken ill at work. Non-compliance can lead to serious consequences, including fines and legal action, underscoring the importance of understanding and fulfilling these duties.

The core principle behind the HSE's guidance, outlined in 'First Aid at Work: The Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981. Guidance on Regulations' (L74), is that employers must provide 'adequate and appropriate' first-aid equipment, facilities, and personnel. This applies to all workplaces, regardless of size, and includes self-employed individuals. What constitutes 'adequate and appropriate' is not a fixed standard but rather is determined by a thorough assessment of an employer's specific workplace risks.

The Cornerstone: First Aid Needs Assessment

The foundation of effective workplace first aid provision is a comprehensive First Aid Needs Assessment. This is not a one-off task but an ongoing process that should be reviewed regularly, especially when there are changes in the workplace, such as new processes, equipment, or a significant change in staff numbers. For 2025, employers should be proactively reviewing and updating their assessments.

Key factors to consider during this assessment include:

  • Nature of the work and workplace hazards: Are there high-risk activities (e.g., machinery, chemicals, working at height)?
  • Size of the organisation: More employees generally require more first aiders and equipment.
  • History of accidents and illness: Past incidents can highlight specific risks.
  • Number of employees: This directly impacts the number of trained first aiders required.
  • Distribution of workforce: Are employees spread across multiple buildings or floors?
  • Remoteness of the site from emergency medical services: This may necessitate special arrangements.
  • Shift patterns: How do these affect first aid cover?
  • The nature of the workforce: Including age, health, and physical attributes.
  • Mental health: Employers are increasingly encouraged to account for employees' mental health in their first-aid needs assessment.
  • Provision for non-employees: While not a legal duty, the HSE strongly recommends including non-employees (such as visitors or customers) in the needs assessment and making provisions for them.

The HSE withdrew its Approved Code of Practice in October 2013, which previously prescribed minimum numbers of first aiders. The current guidance (L74) now emphasises a needs-assessment-based approach, recognising the enormous variation in workplace risk.

Key Updates and Considerations for 2025

Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs)

While not yet a legal requirement, the HSE's late 2025 update strongly advises the provision of Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) in higher-risk environments. This includes workplaces with large staff or visitor numbers, potential delays in ambulance response times, or higher physical risks such as factories, gyms, and construction sites. First Aid Needs Assessments must now consider the distance to and availability of AEDs, whether first aiders are trained in their use, and the visibility and accessibility of the devices.

Related training: If you are looking to qualify as a trainer in this area, see online first aid training courses or explore PMVA trainer qualifications for nationally recognised UK and Ireland qualifications.

Training and Qualifications

The HSE encourages employers to ensure that AED use is included in first aid training. Furthermore, the 2025 UK First Aid and Adult Basic Life Support (BLS) guidelines, which came into effect in January 2026, emphasise early recognition, faster action, and removing barriers to providing aid. This includes a significant shift to call 999 immediately if someone is unresponsive, even before checking for breathing, as emergency call handlers are adept at identifying cardiac arrest.

First aiders should hold a valid certificate from an approved training organisation, typically valid for three years. Annual refresher training is strongly recommended by the HSE, though not a legal requirement.

First Aid Kits and Facilities

Employers must provide a suitably stocked first aid kit. The contents should be appropriate for the identified risks, and kits should be regularly checked and easily accessible. The new BS 8599-1:2019+A1:2026 workplace first aid kits standard, which came into force on 30 April 2026, also impacts how businesses satisfy HSE first aid requirements.

Beyond personnel, employers must also provide appropriate first-aid equipment and facilities. The minimum at any workplace is an appointed person, a stocked first aid kit, and clear first aid information for employees.

For comprehensive and compliant first aid training designed to meet HSE requirements and the evolving landscape of workplace safety, Abertay Training offers a range of accredited courses. Visit https://www.abertaytraining.co.uk for more information.