Annual First Aid Refresher on Site
Keep your first aiders genuinely ready — not just certificated on paper. This focused three-hour annual first aid refresher at your workplace rebuilds confidence, sharpens technique and satisfies the HSE recommendation that all qualified first aiders practise their skills every year.
Why first aiders need an annual refresher — and why on site is the sensible choice
A three-year first aid certificate is a compliance milestone, not a guarantee of readiness. The skills that matter most in a real emergency — high-quality CPR, confident AED use, correctly opening a compromised airway — are the skills that deteriorate fastest without regular hands-on practice. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is explicit on this: it strongly recommends that all EFAW and FAW certificate holders carry out an annual skills update throughout their three-year certificate life.
Sending staff offsite for a half-day means lost productivity, travel time and the organisational overhead of coordinating multiple calendars. Booking the annual first aid refresher at your workplace eliminates all of that. One fixed price covers up to 12 of your team. Your trainer comes to you, on a date you choose, and your first aiders are back at their desks — or back on the shop floor — within hours.
Who is this course for?
The refresher is suitable for anyone who holds, or has recently held, a recognised workplace first aid qualification:
- Emergency First Aid at Work (EFAW) certificate holders in offices, retail, hospitality and other lower-risk environments
- First Aid at Work (FAW) certificate holders in manufacturing, construction, warehousing, education, care settings and other higher-risk or larger sites
- Staff whose certificate is approaching its three-year expiry and who want to stay sharp while they schedule requalification
- Newly appointed first aiders who completed initial training some time ago and want a structured opportunity to consolidate their skills
The refresher is not a standalone first aid qualification. If a member of your team does not yet hold any first aid certificate, they will need an EFAW or FAW course first.
What your team will practise
The session is structured around the skills most likely to fade between requalifications — and most likely to be needed in a genuine workplace emergency. Your trainer works through the following with every participant:
Life-support skills
- Primary survey: the safe approach, responsiveness check, airway assessment, breathing confirmation and circulation scan — running through a realistic casualty scenario so the sequence becomes instinctive
- Adult CPR: chest compression rate (100–120 per minute), correct depth, full chest recoil, hand placement and minimising interruptions — all practised on full-size manikins
- Rescue breaths: head-tilt chin-lift, seal and ventilation technique, recognising an adequate breath; and when compression-only CPR is appropriate
- Automated external defibrillator (AED): powering on, pad placement, safety checks, integrating the AED into CPR without long interruptions — practised with a training AED unit
- Recovery position: correct procedure for an unresponsive but breathing adult, monitoring and handover to emergency services
Airway emergencies
- Choking in adults: distinguishing mild obstruction (encourage coughing) from severe obstruction; the back-blow and abdominal-thrust sequence; what to do if the casualty becomes unresponsive
Bleeding and circulation
- Severe bleeding: direct pressure technique, wound packing where appropriate, improvised and purpose-made dressings, pressure points; updated language reflecting HSE's 2024 guidance shift to "life-threatening bleeding"
- Shock: recognising the signs and symptoms of shock (pale, cold, clammy, rapid shallow breathing, confusion), appropriate first aid response and positioning
Protocol updates
- Any changes to recommended first aid practice since your team last trained — for example, updates to Resuscitation Council UK guidelines — are highlighted and worked into the practical exercises
Tailored to your setting. Tell us before the session whether your team works in an office, warehouse, school, construction site or care home. Your trainer will use scenarios and hazard references that make sense for your environment, not a generic classroom exercise.
How the day runs
There are no fixed clock times — the session is structured by content, not a timetable — but the typical flow looks like this:
Trainer arrives and sets up
Your trainer brings all equipment and sets up in the room you have allocated. No preparation is needed from you beyond clearing floor space and ensuring chairs are available.
Brief recap and scenario framing
A short opening discussion covers the purpose of the refresher, any changes to practice since the team last trained, and the specific hazards or scenarios relevant to your workplace.
Hands-on practical stations
The bulk of the session — roughly two hours — is spent at practical stations: CPR on manikins, AED practice, choking scenarios, bleeding control and the recovery position. Every participant gets multiple turns on each skill, with real-time feedback from the trainer.
Questions and close
The trainer takes questions, addresses any individual technique concerns and confirms that each participant is clear on what to do in an emergency. Certificates are issued before the trainer leaves.
The entire session is practical. There is no written exam, no lengthy theory presentation and no slide deck to sit through. Your first aiders spend their three hours doing, not listening.
Assessment and certificate
The annual first aid refresher does not carry a formal regulated assessment. Your trainer observes practical technique throughout, gives individual feedback and makes sure every participant leaves with improved confidence in each skill covered. There is no pass or fail.
On completion, every attendee receives a Certificate of Attendance from First Aid Training On Site. File this alongside your workplace first aid records — it provides clear evidence that the HSE-recommended annual refresher took place and supports a proactive approach to first aider competence. It does not replace or extend the three-year EFAW or FAW certificate; full requalification remains necessary before that certificate expires.
Why book the annual first aid refresher on site at your workplace?
One price, up to 12 people — no hidden extras
The refresher costs from £395 + VAT for the whole session, regardless of whether you have 3 or 12 attendees. That is a single fixed line on your purchase order. No per-head fees, no mileage invoices, no material charges. With a full group of 12, the cost per person falls below from £33 + VAT — considerably less than individual places on open courses, once you account for staff travel time and out-of-pocket expenses.
Zero disruption — your team trains where they work
On-site training means your first aiders do not take a half-day out of the business to commute to a training centre and back. They walk to the meeting room, spend three hours refreshing skills, and return to their roles. No travel time, no absent desks, no coordination across multiple schedules for an offsite run.
Scenarios that actually match your environment
Generic training centres run generic scenarios. When the refresher takes place at your premises, your trainer can reference the layout of your building, the equipment you have on site and the kinds of incidents your team might genuinely face. That specificity makes the training stick. A first aider who has practised a scenario in their own workplace responds faster and more confidently when the real thing happens.
Dates that suit your shift pattern
Open courses run on set dates — take it or leave it. Booking an on-site refresher means you choose the day and, within reason, the start time. If you run shifts, we can discuss how to cover different groups without taking your whole team off at once.
The legal and compliance picture
The Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981 require every employer to provide "adequate and appropriate" first aid provision. What counts as adequate is set by a first aid needs assessment, not a fixed formula. Holding a three-year certificate satisfies the qualification requirement, but the HSE is clear that a certificate alone does not guarantee that a first aider remains competent to respond effectively. Annual refreshers are HSE's stated mechanism for bridging that gap.
From a practical compliance perspective, a record of annual refreshers — evidenced by Certificates of Attendance — demonstrates to insurers, enforcement officers and, in educational settings, Ofsted inspectors that your organisation takes its first aid duty seriously and does not treat training as a once-every-three-years tick box. The 2024 update to HSE's L74 guidance also extended the needs assessment to include consideration of employees' mental health, so if your first aid review is overdue, this is a good moment to address it alongside the refresher booking.
Course summary
- Price
- from £395 + VAT (up to 12 people)
- Duration
- 3 hours
- Where
- At your premises, UK-wide
- Accreditation
- HSE-recommended annual refresher; FAIB-accredited provider
- Certificate
- Certificate of attendance
Questions about the Annual First Aid Refresher
Is the annual first aid refresher a legal requirement?
The refresher is not itself a legal requirement, but employers have a duty under the Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981 to ensure their first aiders remain competent throughout the certificate period. The HSE strongly recommends a structured annual skills update for all EFAW and FAW holders. Booking a refresher is the clearest way to demonstrate that you are meeting that expectation — and a Certificate of Attendance provides the paper trail.
Why does the HSE recommend a refresher every year if certificates last three years?
First aid skills — particularly CPR compression rate and depth, AED pad placement and airway management — are practical motor skills that fade without regular repetition. A three-year certificate shows a first aider reached the required standard at the point of training; it does not guarantee they can still perform those skills reliably two years later. The HSE recognises this explicitly and recommends annual practice to maintain genuine readiness, not just technical compliance.
Does the refresher extend or renew my team's three-year first aid certificate?
No. The annual first aid refresher is a skills update, not a requalification. Your team's EFAW or FAW certificates continue to run until their three-year expiry date regardless of how many refreshers are completed. Full requalification — via a First Aid at Work Requalification course — is required to renew the certificate before it expires. We strongly recommend not leaving requalification until the last moment, as most awarding bodies do not offer a meaningful grace period after expiry.
Who should attend — does everyone need a current first aid certificate?
The refresher is intended for existing or recent first aid certificate holders — EFAW, FAW or equivalent. Ideally attendees hold a current certificate, but staff whose certificate has lapsed recently also benefit while they arrange formal requalification. It is not suitable as an initial qualification for someone who has never trained in first aid; those individuals need an EFAW or FAW course.
What certificate do participants receive?
Every attendee who completes the session receives a Certificate of Attendance from First Aid Training On Site. This gives you a clear dated record to retain in your workplace health and safety files. It is not a regulated first aid qualification — the three-year EFAW or FAW certificate remains the relevant compliance document — but it demonstrates proactive upkeep of first aider competence.
How many people can attend one session, and what does it cost per head?
Up to 12 people can attend one on-site refresher session at the fixed price of from £395 + VAT. With a full group of 12, that is under £33 per person — typically less than individual places on open courses once travel costs are included. If you need to refresh more than 12 first aiders, we can run additional sessions on the same day or on separate dates. Just tell us your total headcount when you enquire.
What do we need to provide for the on-site session?
A private, reasonably clear room large enough for participants to kneel and work on the floor — a meeting room, training room or canteen works well. Provide one chair per person and basic ventilation. We bring everything else: CPR manikins, an AED training unit, pocket masks, bandages and dressings, and all other training equipment. There is no kit or materials for you to source.
Can the session be tailored to our industry or specific workplace hazards?
Yes. When you book, tell us about your workplace — office, warehouse, school, care home, construction site — and the types of incident most relevant to your team. Your trainer will shape the practical scenarios around your environment, so the training feels directly applicable rather than generic. On-site delivery is uniquely suited to this: your trainer can see your space, reference your equipment and run drills in context.
How quickly can you arrange delivery?
We aim to respond to enquiries within one working day and can usually arrange delivery within a few working days of booking — which is particularly useful if a first aider's certificate has recently lapsed or an upcoming audit has flagged a gap. Call us on 0800 852 7739 or send a quick enquiry with your preferred date, location and group size.
Related courses
Need a full qualification, a requalification or a focused CPR session? These courses pair naturally with the annual refresher.
Emergency First Aid at Work (EFAW)
One-day initial qualification for lower-risk workplaces. Valid three years.
First Aid at Work Requalification
Renew an expiring FAW certificate before the three-year window closes.
CPR Certificate Course
Focused hands-on CPR and AED training for teams without a full first aid certificate.
Book your annual first aid refresher at your workplace
Tell us your preferred date, location and how many people need refreshing — we will confirm availability and send a fixed-price quote, usually within one working day.