Every UK employer includes a duty to protect their employees while they are doing work for them. Being an absolute minimum, employers should have an initial aid box and an appointed person in charge in case of a crisis. Every employer also has the responsibility to provide on-going information to their employees about medical. For Website link , sending selected employees on first aid training courses proves to function as safest and most responsible approach to first aid in the workplace. A worker that has been trained by an approved organization and holds a qualification in first aid at work can be an asset to their company and their fellow colleagues.
With respect 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 always be a qualified first-aider readily available should a predicament arise. Even small companies with fewer employees should still consider sending one or two people to become qualified first-aiders. As an employer it isn't only a legal obligation to make sure that medical is sufficiently catered for, but in extreme circumstances it might mean the difference between life and death.
First aid training might help save lives, which should be enough of a motivation for all employers, regardless of the size or nature of these business, to send employees on first aid training courses. These courses can be conducted either on or off site and vary long from half day refresher sessions to intensive three day courses. The best first aid courses usually adopt a more practical and hands on approach, concentrating on scenario based training methods that can 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 more likely to require a trained and qualified first-aider. In high risk workplaces, such as building sites for example, failure to provide first aid in the event of an emergency may result in a tragic outcome. Workers in these circumstances which are injured or taken ill need immediate and adequate medical attention until the emergency services arrive, and so these companies need to have trained first-aiders available on site always.
Low Risk Workplaces
Even workplaces which are considered low risk, such as for example small offices with fewer employees should consider sending their workers on first aid classes. Employers have both a moral and legal obligation to implement medical in the workplace, regardless of the size of the business.
Legal duties
If employers neglect to implement medical procedures, they could find themselves running into trouble with regulations. MEDICAL and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981 requires employers to carry out an assessment, considering workplace hazards, risks and other relevant factors. As a result of this assessment, the Regulations require employers to provide 'adequate and appropriate' equipment, facilities and personnel, including sending employees to medical classes if deemed appropriate. These Regulations connect with all workplaces including people that have less than five employees (see 'Low Risk Workplaces' above).
Multiple First Aiders
It stands to reason that the more staff members that employers send on first aid training, the higher their chances will undoubtedly be of handling an initial aid emergency if the problem presents itself. Fortunately that when an employer believes that they may not have sufficient trained first-aiders, it's easy enough just to send more of their employees on an exercise course. Some employers are reluctant to do this however, believing that first aid courses are expensive and time consuming. The truth is though, this is very often not the case; first aid training courses can be completed in as little as half a day or up to three days, depending on the course. Because of this employers won't need to spend the large sums of money or lose key members of staff for long periods of time.
Moreover, this means that those employers will have the peace of mind of knowing that their employees are looked after and that the business's legal obligations are increasingly being fulfilled.