Every UK employer includes a duty to protect their workers while they are working for them. Being an absolute minimum, employers should have a first aid box and an appointed person in control in case of an emergency. Every employer also has the responsibility to supply on-going information with their employees about medical. For some companies however, sending selected employees on first aid classes proves to be the safest & most responsible approach to first aid in the workplace. An employee that has been trained by an approved organization and holds a qualification in first aid at work is an asset with their company and their fellow colleagues.
According to the size of the business, it's advisable for employers to send several their employees to attend first aid training courses so that there will be a qualified first-aider readily available should a situation arise. Even small companies with fewer employees should still consider sending a couple of people to become qualified first-aiders. As an employer it is not only a legal obligation to ensure first aid is sufficiently catered for, however in extreme circumstances it could mean the difference between life and death.
First aid training can help save lives, which should be enough of an incentive for all employers, regardless of the size or nature of these business, to send employees on first aid classes. These courses could be conducted either on or off site and vary long from half day refresher sessions to intensive three day courses. The very best medical courses usually adopt a more practical and hands on approach, focusing on scenario based training methods that are designed to build confidence and offer very real and practical life-saving skills.
High Risk Workplaces
Workplaces where you can find more significant health and safety risks are much more likely to require a trained and qualified first-aider. In risky workplaces, such as for example building sites for example, failure to provide first aid in case of an emergency may create a tragic outcome. Helpful site in these situations which are injured or taken ill need immediate and adequate medical assistance until the emergency services arrive, and so these companies have to have trained first-aiders on site constantly.
Low Risk Workplaces
Even workplaces which are considered low risk, such as small offices with fewer employees should think about sending their workers on first aid classes. Employers have both a moral and legal obligation to implement first aid in the workplace, regardless of the size of the business.
Legal duties
If employers neglect to implement first aid procedures, they could find themselves running into trouble with the law. MEDICAL and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981 requires employers to carry out an assessment, considering workplace hazards, risks along with other relevant factors. Due to this assessment, the Regulations require employers to provide 'adequate and appropriate' equipment, facilities and personnel, including sending employees to medical training courses if deemed appropriate. These Regulations connect with all workplaces including people that have significantly less than five employees (see 'Low Risk Workplaces' above).
Multiple First Aiders
It stands to reason that the more workers that employers send on first aid training, the better their chances will be of handling an initial aid emergency if the problem presents itself. The good news is that when an employer believes they may not have sufficient trained first-aiders, it's easy enough just to send more of their employees on a training course. Some employers are reluctant to do this however, believing that first aid courses are costly and time consuming. The truth is though, this is often false; first aid classes can be completed in less than half of a day or up to three days, according to the course. Therefore employers won't need to spend the large sums of money or lose key members of staff for extended periods of time.
Moreover, this means that those employers will have the reassurance of knowing that their employees are taken care of and that the company's legal obligations are increasingly being fulfilled.