Every UK employer includes a duty to protect their employees while they are working for them. As an absolute minimum, employers should have a first 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 most companies however, sending selected employees on medical training courses proves to function as safest & most responsible approach to first aid in the workplace. A worker that has been trained by an approved organization and holds a qualification in medical at work is an asset to their company and their fellow colleagues.
With respect to the size of the business, it's advisable for employers to send numerous their employees to wait first aid training courses so that there will always be a qualified first-aider on hand should a situation arise. Even small companies with fewer employees should still consider sending a couple of people to become qualified first-aiders. Being an employer it is not just a legal obligation to make sure that first aid is sufficiently catered for, but in extreme circumstances it could mean the difference between life and death.
First aid training can help save lives, which should be enough of a motivation for all employers, whatever the size or nature of their 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 very best first aid courses usually adopt a far more practical and hands on approach, focusing on scenario based training methods that are designed to build confidence and offer very real and practical life-saving skills.
High Risk Workplaces
Workplaces where you can find more significant safe practices risks are more likely to need a trained and qualified first-aider. In high risk workplaces, such as for example building sites for instance, failure to provide first aid in the event of an emergency could well result in a tragic outcome. Workers in these circumstances that are injured or taken ill need immediate and adequate medical attention until the emergency services arrive, therefore these companies have to have trained first-aiders on site at all times.
Low Risk Workplaces
Even workplaces that are considered low risk, such as small offices with fewer employees should think about sending their workers on first aid training courses. Employers have both a moral and legal obligation to implement first aid in the workplace, whatever the size of the business.
Legal duties
If employers neglect to implement first aid procedures, they could end up 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. Because of this assessment, the Regulations require employers to supply 'adequate and appropriate' equipment, facilities and personnel, including sending employees to medical classes if deemed appropriate. Look at this website connect with all workplaces including people that have significantly less than five employees (see 'Low Risk Workplaces' above).
Multiple First Aiders
It stands to reason that the more workers that employers send on medical training, the better their chances will undoubtedly be of handling an initial aid emergency if the problem presents itself. Fortunately that if an employer believes they may not have enough trained first-aiders, it's easy enough just to send more of these employees on an exercise course. Some employers are reluctant to do this however, believing that first aid courses are costly and time consuming. The truth is though, this is very often not the case; first aid classes could be completed in as little as half of a day or up to three days, depending on the course. Therefore employers won't have to part with large sums of money or lose key members of staff for extended periods of time.
Moreover, this means that those employers could have the reassurance of knowing that their employees are taken care of and that the business's legal obligations are being fulfilled.