Every UK employer has a legal duty to provide adequate and appropriate first aid cover under the Health and Safety (First Aid) Regulations 1981. For many lower-risk workplaces, a first aid needs assessment will identify that an Emergency First Aider is the right level of cover. TMS Insight’s Emergency First Aid at Work course is the qualification that meets that requirement.
The course equips learners with the confidence and hands-on skills to assess an incident, call for help, and treat the most common workplace emergencies — from an unresponsive casualty in need of CPR through to bleeding, shock, burns, and minor injuries. It’s also well suited to people providing first aid cover in non-workplace settings, including voluntary and community groups.
The qualification is regulated in the UK and awarded by First Aid Awards (FAA), sitting on both the Regulated Qualifications Framework (RQF) and the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF). It is delivered, assessed, and quality assured in line with the Assessment Principles for Regulated First Aid Qualifications and the current Resuscitation Council UK Guidelines.
Learners spend the majority of the course on practical skills, with all required elements demonstrated on a manikin at floor level to replicate a real-life emergency as closely as possible. Scenario-based practice is combined with ongoing oral questioning from the trainer/assessor, so competence is built and evidenced together. The course can be delivered as a single day or spread across a maximum of four weeks (with each session a minimum of two hours), with a maximum ratio of 12 learners to 1 trainer/assessor.
Course Objectives
At the end of the course, a participant will be able to:
- Understand the role and responsibilities of a first aider, including how to minimise the risk of infection to themselves and others, and the need for consent.
- Conduct a scene survey and a primary survey of a casualty, and summon appropriate assistance.
- Identify when to administer CPR and demonstrate effective adult CPR on a manikin at floor level.
- Place an unresponsive, breathing casualty into the recovery position and continually monitor their breathing.
- Administer first aid to a casualty who is experiencing a seizure.
- Recognise when a casualty is choking and administer appropriate first aid.
- Identify whether external bleeding is life-threatening and administer appropriate first aid.
- Recognise hypovolaemic shock (resulting from blood loss) and administer appropriate first aid.
- Administer first aid for minor injuries including small cuts, grazes, bruises, small splinters, and nosebleeds.
- Administer first aid for minor burns and scalds.
Target Audience
This qualification is designed for anyone who has been identified as a designated first aider by their employer’s first aid needs assessment, as well as:
- Team leaders, managers, and supervisors with a duty of care for colleagues
- Lone workers and small-site representatives who may be the only trained responder on shift
- Facilities, reception, and front-of-house staff in lower-risk office and retail environments
- People providing first aid cover in voluntary and community settings
- Anyone who wants the confidence and competence to act in a medical emergency at work, at home, or in the community
Prerequisites
- Learners must be aged 14 or over to attend. A learner cannot assume the responsibility of being a first aider in the workplace until they reach the age of 16.
- It is recommended that learners hold a minimum of Level 1 in literacy or equivalent.
- Due to the practical nature of the assessment, learners must be able to get to the floor unaided and demonstrate all required elements on their own, with the casualty at floor level (for example, performing effective CPR on a manikin at floor level).
Reasonable adjustments may be available for learners with a disability, medical condition, or learning need, in line with the FAA Reasonable Adjustment and Special Consideration Policy. Please contact us before booking if you have any concerns.
Assessment
The qualification is assessed entirely through practical demonstration, supported by set oral questions from the trainer/assessor. Assessment is ongoing throughout the course, with learners made aware of when they are being assessed and what they are required to demonstrate. There is no grading: learners either pass or are referred. To achieve the qualification, a learner must satisfactorily complete each assessment scenario.
Certification & Validity
Successful learners receive the FAA Level 3 Award in Emergency First Aid at Work (RQF) / Award in Emergency First Aid at Work at SCQF Level 6, valid for three years from the date of achievement. The Health and Safety Executive strongly recommends that first aiders attend annual refresher training to keep skills current.
Important: HSE guidance states that on expiry of their qualification, a first aider is no longer considered competent to act as a first aider in the workplace. We recommend arranging requalification before the three-year expiry date so that your workplace is not left with a shortfall of qualified first aiders. To requalify, learners complete the full six-hour course again.
Progression
Learners who achieve this qualification can progress on to the FAA Award in First Aid at Work (the full three-day workplace first aid qualification) and to other FAA first aid and related qualifications. TMS Insight’s wider Health & Safety portfolio also includes fire safety, manual handling, food safety, safeguarding, and first aid for mental health.