Last updated on May 3rd, 2024 at 08:36 pm

Do I need an first aid kit in the office?

First aid cover in the workplace is a legal requirement here in the UK. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) introduced a new set of regulations which came into force on 1 October 2009 and the simple answer is that even offices with less than 5 employees need a trained first aider and a first aid kit. You should also remember that there needs to be a first aider available when ever people are at work so if you have an office that covers two or more shifts you are legally obliged to have at least one first aider for each shift.

Although there is no legal requirement for the content of the first aid kit you can base the contents around the fact that office environments do not usually cause serious accidents, so you can concentrate on what people are going to need most often. Office injuries are usually minor, including paper cuts, steam burns from the microwave, an occasional scalding from the office kettle or coffee pot, maybe a splinter from desks etc and the the odd trip caused by loose cables or items on the floor. What will be needed most often are items such as plasters, a triangular bandage, a selection of other bandages to support sprains, some sterile water or fluid to wash a cut out, some cotton wall, antiseptic wipes, possibly some burn cream and some personal grooming instruments such as tweezers. You may also want to include some latex-free gloves in the kit so that the first aider can handle cuts safely. A good idea is a guidance leaflet or guide to first aid booklet that covers the basics as well.

You should not put items such as asprin or other pain killers in a first aid kit, the only people that should give these kinds of tablets are the people that need to take them – due to the risk of allergies they should not be provided by the workplace. This also applies to indigestion tablets, throat lozenges and any other kind of “over the counter” medicines.

The amount of items in the kit obviously depend on the number of employees in your office, a small office will need a smaller kit than a larger office (and if you are in a very large office you may even want to keep one or more kits on each floor or in each department),  You can make up the kit yourself but it is often much simpler to buy a kit direct from a specialist supplier, in this way you know that the contents have been matched to the legal rquirements, and also that they match what you are likely to need in your office.

One final thing, don’t forget that you need to check the contents on a regular basis, some items will have a “use by” date and it is easy for things like plasters to be used and not replaced (or items like tweezers to be used and put down somewhere and then lost).

Hopefully you will never need to use the first aid kit in your office but, apart from the legal requirement, it is a good feeling to know that you have one should  you need it (and it shows the staff that you both care and are up to date with the latest employment laws).