The contents of your workplace first aid kit should be guided by your first aid needs assessment, this should take into account the level of hazards, workplace environment and number of employees. Footfall of members of the public also falls under the Health and Safety Executive's recommendation to offer a duty of care to people on your premises. 

What should a basic workplace first aid kit include?

• Plasters: used for small cuts and grazes.
• Dressings: used to apply pressure to larger wounds and help to stop bleeding.
• Bandages: used to support joints, hold dressings in place, put pressure on wounds and to stop swelling.
• Scissors: used to cut bandages or sticky tape or someone’s clothing if you need to get to a wound.
• Disposable gloves: used to reduce the risk of infection.
• Face shields or pocket masks: used to prevent infection when you give rescue breaths.
• Cleansing wipes, alcohol free wipes: used to clean the skin around the wound.
• Adhesive tape: used to hold dressings or the loose end of bandages in place.
• Foil blankets: used to help retain body heat in survival, emergency and first aid situations.

Unsure about your first aid needs?

Use our requirements calculator to help figure out the first aid needs of your workplace. It will provide guidance on how many first aiders and first aid kits you require.

Please note, the calculators are for guidance only and do not replace the need for a full first aid needs assessment in your workplace.

First aid calculator

Which workplace first aid kit is right for you?

Use your risk assessment to identify which first aid kit you need. It will depend on your type of workplace (whether it is high-risk, such as a warehouse, or low-risk, such as an office), and how many people the first aid kit is for.

Some workplaces will require specialist first aid kits. For example, if you work in a catering environment, a catering first aid kit will contain blue plasters and tape to be easily visible.

We recommend that workplace first aid kits conform to the British Standard BS 8599-1. All our workplace first aid kits conform to BS8599-1:2019.

British Standard 8599-1 Review

In 2011, the British Standard Institution published the British Standard for workplace first aid kits, BS 8599-1:2011. This standard has now been reviewed and a new standard BS 8599-1:2019 has been published in January 2019.

Why is the standard changing?  

British Standards can be reviewed after 5 years if feedback from users indicates a need to update the specifications.

What has changed in the standard? 

Currently four sizes of workplace kits are available – small, medium, large and a travel size kit. Two new kits have been added to supplement the workplace kits - a Personal Issue Kit and a Critical Injury Pack.

The Personal Issue Kit is a small kit that can be issued to individuals while the Critical Injury Pack is designed for the treatment of catastrophic injuries.

In addition to the creation of the new kits, there have been changes to the composition of the workplace kits:

• Safety pins have been removed and the number of tape rolls has been increased in the medium and large kits.
• The number of medium dressings has been reduced while the number of large dressings has been increased.

Finally, the travel first aid kit has been renamed the Travel and Motoring Kit and its components amended to conform with the requirements of the British Standard for motor vehicle first aid kits BS8599-2:2014. This means the contents of the Travel and Motoring Kit now has the same components as the Medium Motor Vehicle Kit.

When was the standard launched? 

The new standard was published on 10 January 2019 with a 12-month transition period.

Note - Conforming with the British Standard is voluntary and not required by law

Once you have completed your risk assessment, browse our range of workplace first aid kits below.

Should you have a motor vehicle first aid kit?

Having a first aid kit while travelling in a car or any other vehicle can be a lifesaver. It can be crucial in the event of a road crash or more minor first aid issues, such as cuts, scrapes and burns.

The British Standard Institution published the standard BS 8599-2 for first aid provision within motor vehicles in 2014. This standard aims to improve safety for all UK motorists by equipping vehicles with a first aid kit scaled specifically to the size of the vehicle and number of passengers, while providing the essential first response supplies needed to deal with a road side incident.

The standard aims to make it easier than ever before to ensure your motor vehicle is stocked with appropriate first aid provision, specifying requirements for the compilation of first aid components in two sizes of first aid kits - small and medium..

• Small motorist kit: Designed for vehicles with 1-3 passengers such mopeds, motorcycles, motor tricycles and quad bikes etc.
• Medium motorist kit: Designed for cars, taxis, commercial vehicles with 1-8 passengers such as cars, taxis etc.

Should you have more passengers than 8, such as minibusses, buses, or coaches you will require more than one kit.

We recommend that motor vehicle first aid kits conform to British Standard BS 8599-2:2014. All our motor vehicle first aid kits conform to this standard.