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Advice & tools for safer workplaces

Interactive calculators, expert guides and practical resources to help you plan your first aid and fire safety arrangements.

How many first aiders do I need?

How many first aiders do I need?

Guides and articles

Guides and articles

Northlight trainer demonstrating chest compressions on a CPR manikin while two learners watch
Northlight trainer demonstrating chest compressions on a CPR manikin while two learners watch
Northlight trainer demonstrating chest compressions on a CPR manikin while two learners watch

GUIDES AND ARTICLES

Start with the big decisions

Each guide works through one decision your workplace has to make, with examples you can test against your own.

FEATURED GUIDE

How do I carry out a first-aid needs assessment?

Start here. Work through the situations your workplace could face, how people would respond, and the provision that follows.

12 minutes

FEATURED GUIDE

How do I carry out a first-aid needs assessment?

Start here. Work through the situations your workplace could face, how people would respond, and the provision that follows.

12 minutes

A delivery driver lifts a parcel from the side door of a white van, with a green first aid kit mounted on the wall inside.

Latest article

What first aid do lone workers need?

Workplaces · 10 min read

What Northern Ireland law expects for staff who work alone, from van and taxi drivers to field engineers, and the practical arrangements that get help to them.

Read the article →
A trainer kneels beside a CPR training manikin and an open first aid kit on a mat in a school hall, talking to a group of seated staff.

Guide · Schools

First aid in schools in Northern Ireland

Who is responsible for first aid in a Northern Ireland school, what you need in place for staff and pupils, and which training suits which role.

A trainer kneels beside a CPR training manikin and an open first aid kit on a mat in a school hall, talking to a group of seated staff.

Guide · Schools

First aid in schools in Northern Ireland

A fire marshal in a high-visibility vest checks an evacuation list in a busy office with fire extinguishers on the wall.

Guide · Fire safety

Fire marshals: what they do and how many you need

Work out how many fire marshals your premises need by counting the areas that must be checked in an evacuation, then testing that cover against who is on site, when, and through normal absences.

A fire marshal in a high-visibility vest checks an evacuation list in a busy office with fire extinguishers on the wall.

Guide · Fire safety

Fire marshals: what they do and how many you need

Learners practise paediatric first aid on baby and child manikins.

Guide · Childcare

First aid for childcare settings in Northern Ireland

The paediatric first aid training childminders, nurseries, playgroups and out-of-school clubs in Northern Ireland need, and how many people to train.

Learners practise paediatric first aid on baby and child manikins.

Guide · Childcare

First aid for childcare settings in Northern Ireland

A trainer coaches a learner giving chest compressions on a CPR manikin.

Guide · Courses

How long does a first aid certificate last?

First aid certificates last three years. What happens when one expires, how to renew EFAW and First Aid at Work, and when to book.

A trainer coaches a learner giving chest compressions on a CPR manikin.

Guide · Courses

How long does a first aid certificate last?

A worker checks a wall-mounted first-aid kit beside a clear walkway in a furniture workshop.

Guide · Workplaces

How do I carry out a first-aid needs assessment?

How to carry out a first aid needs assessment for a Northern Ireland workplace: hazards, people, working arrangements and what to record.

A worker checks a wall-mounted first-aid kit beside a clear walkway in a furniture workshop.

Guide · Workplaces

How do I carry out a first-aid needs assessment?

Trainer wrapping a bandage around a learner’s forearm during practical first-aid training.

Guide · Courses

Do I need EFAW or FAW?

Choose between Emergency First Aid at Work and First Aid at Work by matching course content to the needs your workplace has identified.

Trainer wrapping a bandage around a learner’s forearm during practical first-aid training.

Guide · Courses

Do I need EFAW or FAW?

First-aid equipment beside a shared office and workshop.

Guide · Workplaces

How many first aiders do I need in my workplace?

Work out how many trained first aiders your workplace needs, then test the number against shifts, locations and normal absences.

First-aid equipment beside a shared office and workshop.

Guide · Workplaces

How many first aiders do I need in my workplace?

More articles

A delivery driver lifts a parcel from the side door of a white van, with a green first aid kit mounted on the wall inside.

Training advice · Workplaces

What first aid do lone workers need?

What Northern Ireland law expects for staff who work alone, from van and taxi drivers to field engineers, and the practical arrangements that get help to them.

A delivery driver lifts a parcel from the side door of a white van, with a green first aid kit mounted on the wall inside.

Training advice · Workplaces

What first aid do lone workers need?

A bra cut through the middle lying on an office floor, with trauma shears, defibrillator pads and a defibrillator behind it

Training advice · First aid skills

Should you remove a woman’s bra to use a defibrillator?

CPR is the same for a woman, but defibrillator pads need bare skin. What to do about her bra, how to protect her dignity, and why any delay costs lives.

A bra cut through the middle lying on an office floor, with trauma shears, defibrillator pads and a defibrillator behind it

Training advice · First aid skills

Should you remove a woman’s bra to use a defibrillator?

A green first aid bag on a table, with people holding a sterile gauze pad, a roller bandage, a triangular bandage and a first aid guidance booklet.

Training advice · Kits and defibrillators

What should be in a workplace first aid kit?

What a Northern Ireland workplace first aid kit should hold, when a BS 8599-1 kit is enough, what your assessment may add and how to keep it stocked.

A green first aid bag on a table, with people holding a sterile gauze pad, a roller bandage, a triangular bandage and a first aid guidance booklet.

Training advice · Kits and defibrillators

What should be in a workplace first aid kit?

Defibrillator in a green wall cabinet beside a doorway in a small business reception

Training advice · Kits and defibrillators

Do you need a defibrillator at work?

Whether your Northern Ireland workplace needs a defibrillator, who can use one, which type to choose, how to register it and what it costs.

Defibrillator in a green wall cabinet beside a doorway in a small business reception

Training advice · Kits and defibrillators

Do you need a defibrillator at work?

Workplace defibrillator guardian checking the status light on a defibrillator in its wall cabinet

Training advice · Kits and defibrillators

How do you look after a workplace defibrillator?

The weekly look, three-monthly check on The Circuit, pads, batteries and after-use steps that keep a workplace defibrillator ready for a 999 call.

Workplace defibrillator guardian checking the status light on a defibrillator in its wall cabinet

Training advice · Kits and defibrillators

How do you look after a workplace defibrillator?

An employee holding a first-aid kit while speaking with a colleague in an office.

Training advice · Workplaces

What is an appointed person?

What an appointed person does, what the role doesn’t include, and when an appointed person can be enough for your workplace.

An employee holding a first-aid kit while speaking with a colleague in an office.

Training advice · Workplaces

What is an appointed person?

A volunteer coach stands pitchside at a floodlit youth football training session, with a green first aid bag on a bench beside her.

Training advice · Clubs

Does my sports club need a first-aider?

What Northern Ireland law requires of a sports club, what governing bodies expect at training and matches, and what we’d have in place before every session.

A volunteer coach stands pitchside at a floodlit youth football training session, with a green first aid bag on a bench beside her.

Training advice · Clubs

Does my sports club need a first-aider?

A trainer points to an AED training unit on a clubhouse table while four club volunteers watch, with two open first aid kits in front of them.

Training advice · Clubs

Sport First Aid or EFAW: which suits coaches and volunteers?

How Sport First Aid and Emergency First Aid at Work compare for club coaches, volunteers and staff, and where your governing body’s own course fits.

A trainer points to an AED training unit on a clubhouse table while four club volunteers watch, with two open first aid kits in front of them.

Training advice · Clubs

Sport First Aid or EFAW: which suits coaches and volunteers?

TOOLS

Tools to help you plan.

Check requirements, compare courses or explore first aid guidance.

Northlight KnowledgeOur free first aid app for quick guidance on the go.

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