Workplace First Aid Policy: What to Include (Template Outline)
Updated 28 September 2026 · 3 min read · Amber Training
Reviewed for accuracy by a qualified Amber Training first aid trainer.
A workplace first aid policy is a short document that turns your first aid needs assessment into clear instructions: who is responsible, who your first aiders are, where the kit is, what to do in an incident, how incidents are recorded, and when it is all reviewed. The law does not require a document with that exact name, but the Health and Safety (First Aid) Regulations 1981 do require you to provide adequate first aid and to tell employees what the arrangements are, and a written policy is the simplest way to do both.
Here is a section-by-section outline you can adapt. Most small and medium businesses need no more than two pages.
1. Policy statement
One or two sentences committing the business to providing adequate first aid for employees, and naming the regulations it follows. If you employ five or more people, this can sit inside your existing written health and safety policy.
2. Responsibilities
Who does what:
- The employer or director: provides the resources, approves the policy
- The responsible manager: carries out the needs assessment, keeps records, arranges training
- First aiders: respond to incidents, keep their skills current, report what happened
- Appointed persons: take charge of arrangements, look after the kit, call the emergency services
- All employees: know how to get help and report incidents
3. Needs assessment summary
A short summary of your first aid needs assessment: your main hazards, how many people are on site, shift patterns, and the number and level of first aiders you decided on as a result.
4. First aid personnel
Names, locations (floor, team or shift), and contact details of your first aiders or appointed persons, with certificate expiry dates. Keep this list current; an out-of-date list is one of the most common gaps inspectors and auditors find.
5. Equipment
Where kits are kept, who checks and restocks them and how often (monthly is good practice), and the location of any defibrillator, eye wash station or travel kits. See what a workplace kit should contain.
6. Incident procedure
Step by step: call for the nearest first aider, call 999 if needed and send someone to meet the ambulance, do not move a casualty unnecessarily, and inform the responsible manager. Put a one-page version by every kit.
7. Recording and reporting
Record every incident. Employers with 10 or more staff must keep an accident book, handled in line with UK GDPR. Certain injuries, diseases and dangerous occurrences must also be reported to HSE under RIDDOR (the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013); name who is responsible for making those reports.
8. Training and refreshers
Which course each first aider holds, when certificates expire, and your refresher plan. Certificates last three years, and HSE recommends a short annual refresher in between (see certificate renewal).
9. Special arrangements
Cover for lone workers, travelling staff, early and late shifts, off-site work and events, and whether visitors and members of the public are included in your arrangements (HSE strongly recommends they are).
10. Review
A named owner and a review date, at least annually and after any significant change.
Make the policy real
A policy only works if the people named in it are confident in an emergency. We deliver Emergency First Aid at Work (£550 per session) and First Aid at Work (£1,500 per session) on site across London for up to 12 staff, with no VAT to add and nothing to pay to book.
This article is general guidance, not legal advice. Request a free quote and we will confirm within 24 hours.
Frequently asked questions
Is a first aid policy a legal requirement?
There is no law that says you must have a document called a first aid policy. The legal duty, under the Health and Safety (First Aid) Regulations 1981, is to provide adequate and appropriate first aid and to tell employees what the arrangements are. A short written policy is the clearest way to do and evidence both, and businesses with five or more employees must already have a written health and safety policy it can sit within.
What should a workplace first aid policy include?
A statement of intent, who is responsible for what, a summary of your first aid needs assessment, named first aiders or appointed persons and how to reach them, kit and defibrillator locations, the procedure to follow in an incident, how incidents are recorded and reported under RIDDOR, the training and refresher schedule, arrangements for lone workers and visitors, and a review date.
Do I need to keep an accident book?
Yes, if you employ 10 or more people. Records must be kept in a way that protects personal data under UK GDPR. Many smaller employers keep one anyway because it makes incidents easier to learn from and evidence.
How often should a first aid policy be reviewed?
At least once a year, and whenever something significant changes: headcount, premises, the work itself, or a first aider leaving.
Book first aid training in London
Amber Training delivers accredited EFAW and FAW courses across London and Enfield, with on-site group training available.