What Should a Workplace First Aid Kit Contain? (BS 8599-1)

A UK workplace first aid kit should follow BS 8599-1, the British Standard for workplace kits. In practice that means a guidance leaflet, assorted plasters, sterile dressings, triangular bandages, eye pads, cleansing wipes, adhesive tape, nitrile gloves, a resuscitation face shield, a foil blanket, burn dressings and shears, in quantities matched to your kit size. The law itself is less prescriptive: the Health and Safety (First Aid) Regulations 1981 require provision that is "adequate and appropriate", and your first aid needs assessment decides what that looks like for your workplace.

Here is what that means when you are the person responsible for stocking the kit.

The standard contents list

A BS 8599-1 workplace kit contains, in varying quantities by size:

• First aid guidance leaflet and contents list
• Washproof plasters, assorted sizes (blue detectable plasters for food businesses)
• Sterile dressings, medium and large
• Sterile finger dressings
• Triangular bandages and safety pins
• Sterile eye pads
• Alcohol-free cleansing wipes
• Microporous adhesive tape
• Nitrile gloves, several pairs
• Resuscitation face shield
• Foil survival blanket
• Burn dressings
• Universal shears
• Conforming bandages

If your assessment identifies specific risks, add to this base: eye wash stations where there is no clean running water, plus travel kits for staff who work off site.

Which size kit you need

BS 8599-1 sets out small, medium and large kits. The right size depends on headcount and risk, not headcount alone:

• Small: low-risk settings (offices, shops) with fewer than 25 staff
• Medium: low-risk settings with 25 to 100 staff, or higher-risk settings (construction, warehousing, kitchens) with fewer than 25
• Large: low-risk settings over 100 staff, or higher-risk settings with 25 or more

Split sites, lone workers and vehicles each need their own provision. One large kit locked in a ground-floor office does not cover a three-floor building well; several smaller kits usually serve better than one big one.

What to leave out

HSE guidance is clear that first aid at work does not include giving tablets or medicines, so painkillers do not belong in the kit. Keep personal medication (inhalers, EpiPens) with the individual, not in the communal box. Anything expired should come out at the next check: sterile items carry expiry dates and lose their sterility claim beyond them.

Checking and restocking

A kit that was compliant in January and empty by June helps nobody. Name one person per site to check kits monthly against the contents list, restock after every use, and record the check. It takes five minutes and it is exactly the sort of simple system an inspector or insurer expects to see alongside your first aider provision.

The kit is half the answer

A well-stocked kit still needs someone confident enough to open it under pressure. The same needs assessment that sets your kit size also tells you whether you legally need a trained first aider, and for most London workplaces the answer is yes. We deliver Emergency First Aid at Work (one day, £550 per session) and First Aid at Work (three days, £1,500 per session) on site at your premises for up to 12 staff, anywhere in London.

Request a free quote and we will confirm within 24 hours, with nothing to pay to book.