What is an appointed person?

There’s often confusion about what an appointed person is, and isn’t. If your workplace doesn’t need a trained first-aider, it still needs someone to take charge of first aid. This article explains what the role involves, where it stops, and when it’s enough.

3 minutes

21 Oct 2026

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

THE SHORT ANSWER

What is an appointed person?

An appointed person is someone you choose to take charge of your workplace’s first-aid arrangements.

They look after the first-aid equipment and facilities, and they call the emergency services when somebody needs them.

They don’t need first-aid training to do that, and they aren’t a first-aider.

Where your first-aid needs assessment finds that a trained first-aider isn’t required, an appointed person is the minimum you should have. Together with a suitably stocked first-aid kit and telling employees what the arrangements are, that’s the minimum provision for any workplace.

Where your assessment says you need trained first-aiders, and you have enough of them, you don’t need an appointed person as well.

What does an appointed person do?

The role is about the arrangements, not about treating people.

An appointed person:

looks after the first-aid kit and any other first-aid equipment and facilities, and keeps them stocked;
takes charge when somebody is injured or becomes ill;
calls the emergency services when they’re needed;
can provide emergency cover if a first-aider is unexpectedly absent.

To do that well, they should know:

how to call for help, including the correct address and how emergency services get onto the site;
where the first-aid equipment is kept;
how your workplace’s emergency arrangements work;
what they are expected to do, and what they aren’t.

What isn’t an appointed person?

They aren’t a first-aider

HSE guidance is clear that appointed persons aren’t first-aiders and shouldn’t attempt first aid they haven’t been trained to give.

Giving somebody responsibility for the arrangements doesn’t give them first-aid competence.

They don’t need first-aid training

There’s no requirement for an appointed person to hold a first-aid qualification to carry out the role.

You can still choose to train them. If they complete Emergency First Aid at Work (EFAW) or First Aid at Work (FAW), they become a trained first-aider for regulatory purposes.

They aren’t routine cover for planned absences

An appointed person can step in when a first-aider is absent for unforeseen reasons. Annual leave doesn’t count.

If your assessment says a trained first-aider should be available, plan cover for leave and other known absences with trained people.

NORTHLIGHT TIP

Define the boundary of the role

If you’re relying on an appointed person, explain the role in practical terms:

“Here is what we need you to take responsibility for. Here is what we do not expect you to do. Here is how you get professional help when it is needed.”

When is an appointed person enough?

Your first-aid needs assessment decides that, not a headcount on its own.

HSE’s suggested staffing levels give a starting point. For lower-hazard workplaces such as offices and shops, they suggest at least one appointed person where there are fewer than 25 employees. For higher-hazard workplaces, they suggest at least one appointed person where there are fewer than 5 employees.

Those numbers are suggestions only. Shifts, separate buildings, remote or lone working, and the people you employ can all mean you need more.

Many workplaces that could rely on an appointed person still choose to have someone trained on site, so somebody can start first aid while professional help is on the way. That’s a reasonable choice, as long as you’re clear which parts are required by your assessment and which you’ve chosen to add.