All businesses should have a first aid policy, regardless of how many employees you have. Even if it’s just having a single first aider with one first aid kit, you should have a policy in place. This will let everyone know what procedures need to be followed should a health and safety problem arise. Here is an idea of what a health and safety policy could look like.
The first or general section will introduce the rest of the policy. It should be free of jargon and simply say you will provide a first aider and equipment that complement the needs of your business.
The second section should detail what laws and legislation covers first aid at work. The main criteria are you need to undertake a risk assessment about your particular company’s needs.
The third section will list what the duties are of the appointed first aider or first aiders. This will include anyone who has been on an emergency first aid at work course that was brought in in October 2008.
The fourth section needs to talk about how people get first aid, i.e. how the first aider is contacted and who needs to be told if a first aid kit needs to be stocked up.
The fifth section should say what will happen should a visitor requires first aid. There isn’t a law saying this needs to be done, but very few businesses choose not to do this.
The sixth section needs to outline any health and safety training that needs to be done, who needs to run it, who needs to enroll on it and what, if any, special content needs to be included on it.
