First Aid at Work Quiz: 20 Law Questions With Answers

Twenty questions on UK workplace first aid law, each with the answer and the rule it comes from. The questions cover the Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981, HSE's official guidance on them (known as L74), RIDDOR 2013 and the accident book. Try each one before reading the answer, or use the set to check what your managers and first aiders know.

Most people score well on the practical questions and slip on the legal detail: who has to be told what, how long certificates last, and which injuries must be reported and by when. Those are the questions an inspector, an insurer or an online health and safety course is most likely to ask.

Part 1: The First Aid Regulations 1981

1. Which law sets out an employer's duty to provide first aid at work?

• a) The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999
• b) The Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981
• c) The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992

Answer: b. The 1981 Regulations apply across Great Britain and are explained in HSE's guidance, L74 First aid at work. Our plain English guide to the Regulations walks through them.

2. The Regulations require employers to provide which of these? (Select all that apply.)

• a) Adequate and appropriate equipment
• b) Adequate and appropriate facilities
• c) An adequate number of suitable, trained people
• d) A written first aid policy

Answer: a, b and c. Regulation 3 requires equipment, facilities and people that are "adequate and appropriate in the circumstances". A written first aid policy is good practice, and many employers include first aid in their health and safety policy, but the 1981 Regulations do not require one.

3. True or false: the Regulations do not apply to small workplaces or self-employed people.

Answer: false. HSE's guidance states that the Regulations apply to all workplaces, including those with fewer than five employees. Self-employed people must provide first aid equipment adequate to treat themselves at work (regulation 5). Someone doing low-hazard work such as clerical work at home is not expected to provide more than their normal household needs.

4. What must an employer tell employees about first aid?

• a) Nothing, unless they ask
• b) The arrangements, including where the equipment, facilities and first aid people are
• c) Only the names of the first aiders

Answer: b. Regulation 4 requires employers to inform employees of the first aid arrangements, including the location of equipment, facilities and personnel. A notice by the kit and a line in the induction usually covers it.

5. What should an employer do first to decide how much first aid provision is needed?

Answer: carry out a first aid needs assessment. HSE's guidance asks employers to assess the hazards and risks of each workplace, the number of people, shift patterns, remote or lone working, shared sites and absences. Our free first aid needs calculator walks through the same factors.

6. The needs assessment shows a trained first aider is not needed. What is the minimum?

Answer: an appointed person. Where a first aider is not required, HSE's guidance says a person should be appointed to take charge of the first aid arrangements: looking after the equipment and facilities and calling the emergency services when needed.

7. True or false: an appointed person must hold a first aid certificate.

Answer: false. Appointed persons do not need first aid training to fulfil their role, although HSE notes they may benefit from an Emergency First Aid at Work course.

8. Do the Regulations require employers to provide first aid for members of the public?

Answer: no, but HSE strongly recommends it. The Regulations only cover employees. HSE's guidance strongly recommends that shops, schools, venues and other places that serve the public include non-employees in their needs assessment and make provision for them.

Part 2: First aiders and certificates

9. A lower-hazard office has 30 staff at work at the same time. What does HSE's guidance suggest as a minimum?

• a) An appointed person
• b) At least one first aider trained in Emergency First Aid at Work
• c) At least one First Aid at Work first aider for every 25 staff

Answer: b. For lower-hazard workplaces with 25 to 50 employees, HSE suggests at least one first aider trained in Emergency First Aid at Work. That is a minimum for any one time, so shifts, holidays and sickness usually mean training more than one person. Our guide on how many first aiders you need shows the full table.

10. A warehouse, a higher-hazard workplace, has 60 people at work at the same time. What is the suggested minimum?

Answer: two First Aid at Work first aiders. For higher-hazard workplaces with more than 50 employees, HSE suggests at least one First Aid at Work first aider for every 50 employed, or part of 50. Sixty people is one 50 plus part of another, so two.

11. How long is a First Aid at Work or Emergency First Aid at Work certificate valid?

Answer: three years. Employers should arrange retraining before certificates expire. Once a certificate has expired, the holder is no longer considered competent to act as a first aider at work. Our free certificate expiry checker works out the dates for a whole team.

12. How long is the First Aid at Work requalification course?

• a) One day
• b) Two days
• c) Three days

Answer: b. The requalification course lasts two days and covers the same content as the full three-day course. Emergency First Aid at Work is renewed by repeating the one-day course.

13. True or false: annual refresher training is a legal requirement.

Answer: false. HSE strongly recommends that first aiders take annual refresher training during each three-year certificate, because skills such as CPR fade without practice. It is recommended, not mandatory.

14. True or false: HSE approves first aid training providers.

Answer: false. HSE stopped approving first aid training providers in 2013. Employers now check for themselves that a provider is competent, which is why regulated qualifications matter. Our checklist for choosing a provider sets out what to look for.

Part 3: RIDDOR and the accident book

15. What does RIDDOR stand for?

Answer: the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013. It requires certain serious workplace incidents to be reported to HSE. Our RIDDOR guide covers every category.

16. An employee dies as a result of a work accident. Who must report it?

• a) The employee's family
• b) The "responsible person", which for an employee is the employer
• c) The hospital

Answer: b. The responsible person must notify HSE without delay, and the report must be received within 10 days. Most reports are made online. Fatal and specified injuries can also be reported by phone on 0345 300 9923, Monday to Friday, 8.30am to 5pm.

17. An over-seven-day injury must be reported within how many days of the accident?

• a) 7 days
• b) 10 days
• c) 15 days

Answer: c. An over-seven-day injury keeps a worker off work, or unable to do their normal duties, for more than seven consecutive days. The day of the accident is not counted, but weekends and rest days are. The report must be made within 15 days of the accident.

18. A worker is off for five days after a fall. Report, record, or neither?

Answer: record it. Injuries that keep a worker off normal duties for more than three consecutive days must be recorded, for example in your accident book, but they do not need to be reported unless the absence goes past seven days. RIDDOR records must be kept for at least three years.

19. A department store has three incidents in one day. Which must be reported under RIDDOR?

• a) A customer slips on a wet floor and is taken by ambulance straight to hospital, where a broken wrist is put in a plaster cast
• b) A customer feels faint, sits down for a while and goes to hospital as a precaution, where they are examined and sent home
• c) A sales assistant cuts a finger on packaging and the first aider applies a plaster

Answer: a only. Injuries to members of the public are reportable when the accident is connected with the work activity, such as the condition of the premises, and the person is taken directly from the scene to hospital for treatment. A plaster cast counts as treatment; examinations, X-rays and precautionary visits do not. The cut finger in c) belongs in the accident book.

20. Which employers must keep an accident book, and for how long?

Answer: employers who normally have 10 or more people at work at the same time on or about the same premises, plus factories, mines and quarries of any size. Each entry must be kept for at least three years. The rule comes from social security law, not RIDDOR, and the book can be paper or electronic. Our guide to accident book rules explains the detail, and our free accident report form produces a record you can print or save.

How did you do?

Eighteen or more and your arrangements are probably in good order. Between 12 and 17 is typical for a busy manager: the gaps are usually certificate dates and RIDDOR deadlines. Fewer than 12 suggests a short review of your needs assessment and policy would be worth an hour.

A note on what is coming: in spring 2026 HSE consulted on updating RIDDOR, including the lists of reportable diseases and dangerous occurrences and a simpler online form. Until any change is made, the 2013 rules above still apply.

Make sure the people side is covered

The law is the easy part to read and the part employers most often get behind on. If your answers to questions 9 to 13 showed a gap, we deliver Emergency First Aid at Work and First Aid at Work on site for up to 12 staff, all-inclusive, across London and England.

This article is general guidance, not legal advice. For the authoritative position, see the Regulations, HSE's L74 guidance and HSE's RIDDOR pages. Request a free quote and we will confirm within 24 hours.