---
title: "Do first aiders at work get paid? | Pay, duty and training"
description: "Do first aiders at work get paid? Their normal wage, yes, plus paid training time. Extra allowances are the employer's choice, not a legal requirement."
url: https://www.aim2aid.co.uk/resources/do-first-aiders-at-work-get-paid/
---

First Aid at Work

# Do first aiders at work get paid?

Rebecca Sullivan and the Aim2Aid First Aid and Fire Safety Training team bring FAIB accredited courses to your own premises across Berkshire and surrounding areas. Call 07771 680794 to arrange dates that suit your shifts and staffing.

[Call 07771 680794](tel:07771680794)

Being the named first aider at work raises an obvious question on payday, and the answer is more straightforward than most workplaces expect.

**At a Glance**

- First aiders are paid their normal wage for their normal job, with no legal right to extra money for the role.
- An allowance or a one off bonus is common, but it is the employer's choice, not a legal duty.
- Training, refreshers and dealing with incidents all happen on paid working time, never in your own time.
- The employer funds the course, the certificate, the refresher and the kit in every case.
- Nobody can be made to take the role on, so it should be offered rather than allocated.
- Training more staff than the bare minimum keeps cover in place through holidays, sickness and shift work.

Aim2Aid Ltd trains staff at their own premises across Berkshire and surrounding areas, with FAIB accredited first aid courses and in house trainers led by Rebecca Sullivan. Whether you need first aid at work or [first aid at work services Milton Keynes](https://www.aim2aid.co.uk/resources/first-aid-at-work-milton-keynes/), we cover the whole area.

Call 07771 680794 to talk through how many first aiders your workplace needs and when to train them.

## Do first aiders at work get paid?

First aiders at work are paid their normal wage for their normal job, and the law does not require any extra payment for holding the role. Many employers do choose to pay a small allowance or a one off bonus, but it is a voluntary decision, not a legal duty.

**Sorting out first aid cover for your staff? Call Aim2Aid First Aid and Fire Safety Training on 07771 680794 and we will train your team at your own premises.**

[Call Now: 07771 680794](tel:07771680794)

## The law covers cover, not extra pay

The rules that sit behind the role are about having enough trained people on site, kitted out and available. They say nothing about topping up anybody's wage. An employer has to work out how many first aiders a workplace needs, based on the hazards, the number of staff, shift patterns and how far the site sits from help, then make sure those people are trained and stay trained. As the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) sets out in its guidance on first aid at work, the duty is on the employer to provide adequate and appropriate provision. Pay is left to the employer.

What the law does cover is time. Training, refreshers, restocking the kit and dealing with an incident all happen during working hours and on the employer's clock. Nobody should be asked to sit a course on a Saturday unpaid, or to burn their own annual leave to keep a certificate valid. If a shift is covered while somebody trains, that is a cost of running the workplace, the same as a machine going offline for a service.

Whether you need first aid at work or [first aid at work in Reading](https://www.aim2aid.co.uk/resources/first-aid-at-work-reading/), we cover the whole area, and the paperwork side is the same wherever the site is: the employer books it, the employer pays for it, and the staff attend on paid time.

## Why many employers pay an allowance anyway

Plenty of firms pay something on top, and there are good reasons for it. Being the named first aider carries responsibility. You are the one who walks towards the mess while everybody else steps back, you keep the accident book straight, you check the kit, and you keep your head when somebody has come off a ladder or gone grey behind the counter. An allowance recognises that, and it makes the role easier to fill and easier to keep filled.

Where it is paid, it usually shows up in one of a few ways:

- A monthly or annual allowance added to salary while the certificate is current.
- A one off payment when the qualification is achieved or renewed.
- A slightly higher grade or job title for staff who take on the duty.
- Nothing extra at all, with training funded and delivered on paid time.

All four are common and all four are lawful. The important part for a business is to write down what it does and apply it evenly, so two people doing the same job on the same site are treated the same way. If an allowance stops when a certificate lapses, say so in writing before anyone signs up.

Whether you need first aid at work or [first aid at work services Windsor](https://www.aim2aid.co.uk/resources/first-aid-at-work-windsor/), we cover the whole area, and we are used to fitting courses around shifts so an allowance decision never turns into a rota problem.

## What the employer pays for regardless

Even where no allowance is on offer, the employer carries the real costs of the role. That means the course itself, the certificate, the refresher when it falls due, the kit, the signage and the time taken to attend. The three day qualification, usually shortened to FAW, and the one day version for lower risk workplaces both sit in that bracket. Nobody should be paying out of their own pocket to be their employer's first aider.

Our first aid courses are accredited by FAIB, and our mental health courses are accredited by FAA, so a business can see exactly what it is buying before a purchase order goes anywhere. Our [first aid at work services](https://www.aim2aid.co.uk/first-aid-training/first-aid-at-work/) are delivered at your own premises by trainers we employ in house, never outsourced, with Rebecca leading them and more than fifty years of combined experience behind the team.

Emergency First Aid at Work runs as one day, about six hours, for up to 12 delegates, and the certificate lasts three years. It is also available blended, with the practical assessment done at your premises and the theory completed online beforehand, which keeps the same duration and the same compliance while pulling less time out of the working week. Our EFAW also includes paediatric content at no extra cost, which matters on sites where children are on the premises.

**Sorting out first aid cover for your staff? Call Aim2Aid First Aid and Fire Safety Training on 07771 680794 and we will train your team at your own premises.**

[Call Now: 07771 680794](tel:07771680794)

## Volunteering for the role and what it is worth to you

Nobody can be forced to be a first aider. It is a role staff take on, and it should be offered rather than handed down. In practice, the people who put their hand up tend to be the ones who have already seen something go wrong on site: the supervisor who has dealt with a bad cut, the driver who came across a collision, the foreman who has watched somebody go down in the heat. If you are that person, the training is worth having whether or not a pound goes with it.

There is a straightforward payoff for the individual too. The qualification travels with you, it sits well on a CV, and the skills work at home, at the match and at the roadside as well as at work. Employers get a workforce that can act in the first few minutes, which is the window that decides most outcomes. That is why we push businesses to train more people than the bare minimum, so holidays, sickness and night shifts do not leave a gap.

For your workplace, the fair position is simple: pay staff for the time they give to the role, fund every part of it, decide clearly on whether an allowance applies, and put it in writing. Rebecca Sullivan and the team will handle the training side around your operation so the only thing left to settle is the pay policy.

**Sorting out first aid cover for your staff? Call Aim2Aid First Aid and Fire Safety Training on 07771 680794 and we will train your team at your own premises.**

[Call Now: 07771 680794](tel:07771680794)