How Many Occupational First Aiders Do You Need?
It is the question every employer eventually asks: how many trained first aiders do we actually need? In Ireland the honest answer is that it depends — but the way to reach a defensible number is clear and practical.
Irish law does not hand you a tidy ratio of first aiders to staff. Instead, the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (General Application) Regulations 2007, Part 7 require you to provide first aid that is appropriate to your own workplace. The Health and Safety Authority (HSA) expects that judgement to be based on a proper assessment of need — not a number copied from another business.
Why there is no single magic number
A figure that suits a quiet accountancy office would be dangerously low for a sawmill. That is why the regulations focus on suitability rather than a fixed count. Your task is to assess the real risks in front of you and provide cover that matches them.
The right number of first aiders is the number that ensures help is genuinely available, in every part of the workplace, at every hour people are working.
The factors that drive the number
When you carry out your assessment of first aid needs, weigh the following:
- Level of risk — low (offices, shops), higher (workshops, construction, food production, chemicals).
- Number of employees — more people generally means more cover.
- Layout and spread — multiple floors, separate buildings or large sites need first aiders in each area, not all in one room.
- Shifts and hours — every shift, including nights and weekends, needs cover. One trained person who only works days is not enough.
- Absence and turnover — train more than the bare minimum so holidays and sick days never leave you exposed.
- Lone and remote workers — these need specific arrangements.
- Distance from emergency services — the further away help is, the more on-site capability you need.
Appointed person vs Occupational First Aider
In some low-risk, small workplaces the law may allow an appointed person — someone who manages first aid arrangements and calls the emergency services but is not a trained first aider. As risk and size increase, you move toward one or more qualified Occupational First Aiders. Many employers find the most robust answer is to train several, so cover never depends on a single individual.
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A practical way to reach a defensible figure
Follow these steps and you will end up with a number you can stand over:
- Map the risk of each area — be honest about hazards.
- Count the people in each area and on each shift.
- Identify gaps — any time or place where nobody trained would be present.
- Add a buffer for leave, illness and staff turnover.
- Write it down — record your reasoning so you can show how you reached the figure.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Training only one person and assuming they are always on site.
- Forgetting night, weekend and seasonal cover.
- Concentrating all first aiders in one building or floor.
- Never refreshing certificates, so skills quietly lapse.
- Treating the assessment as permanent rather than reviewing it after change.
Remember that this links directly to your wider duties. If you are still mapping those out, our overview of first aid legal requirements in Ireland sets the scene. And because cardiac emergencies can strike anywhere, it is worth making sure your team also understands CPR and AED basics.
Two short examples to make it concrete
Numbers always feel clearer with a picture, so consider two very different employers working through the same process.
A small accountancy practice has fifteen staff, all on one floor, working standard weekday hours in a low-risk environment a few minutes from the nearest hospital. Their assessment might reasonably conclude that an appointed person, supported by one or two trained first aiders to cover holidays, is appropriate. The risks are low, the people are close together, and help is near.
Contrast that with a food production site running three shifts, with staff spread across a large floor, chilled stores and a loading yard. Here the hazards are higher, the building is bigger, and there are people on site around the clock. The same process points to several trained Occupational First Aiders per shift, positioned so that every area has someone within reach at all times. Same law, same method — very different answer.
Two businesses can follow exactly the same rules and arrive at completely different numbers. That is the system working as intended, not a flaw in it.
Keep skills and certificates current
Having enough first aiders on paper is not the same as having enough capable first aiders. Skills fade if they are never used, and certificates do not last forever. Build refresher training into your planning so the people you are counting on are genuinely ready, and so a lapsed certificate never quietly leaves you short.
Key takeaways
- Irish law sets no fixed ratio — you assess your own need under Part 7 of the 2007 Regulations.
- Risk level, headcount, site layout and shift patterns all shape the number.
- Cover every shift and every area, not just the day shift in one room.
- Train extra people to absorb leave, illness and turnover.
- Record your reasoning and review it whenever the workplace changes.
Work through the steps above and the question answers itself. The goal is simple: whenever and wherever someone needs help, a trained person is close enough to give it.
