First aid sign requirements UK

The legal framework

Two UK regulations interact:

• Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981 — every UK employer must provide adequate first-aid equipment, facilities, and personnel. The number of first-aiders, the contents of first aid kits, and whether a first-aid room is needed all depend on the size and risk of the workplace.
• Health and Safety (Safety Signs and Signals) Regulations 1996 — where first-aid equipment exists, it must be identified by compliant signage (BS EN ISO 7010).

Together: if your workplace has a first aid kit, you need a sign on it. If it has a first aid room, you need wayfinding signs leading to it.

Standard first aid pictograms

• E003 First Aid — generic green rectangle with white cross
• E004 Emergency telephone — for sites with a designated emergency phone
• E007 Emergency shower — body shower for chemical exposure
• E011 Eye wash station — for chemical or particulate eye exposure
• E024 Stretcher — for sites requiring stretcher signage
• AED / Defibrillator — heart-with-lightning-bolt pictogram, increasingly common in UK public spaces

Where to display first aid signs

• At the equipment itself — on or directly beside the first aid kit, room door, AED cabinet, eye wash station
• At building entry points — visitors and contractors need to know where first aid is from arrival
• Along major corridors and wayfinding routes — directional "First Aid →" signs at junctions and intersections
• In communal areas — staff rooms, canteens, reception, lift lobbies
• On every floor in multi-storey premises, with clear directional signage to the nearest first-aid kit/post

Defibrillator (AED) signage

UK public-access defibrillators have grown dramatically — community AEDs in town centres, schools, sports clubs, gyms, and increasing numbers of private workplaces. Effective AED signage saves lives by reducing the time bystanders spend searching:

• At the AED itself — large prominent sign on the cabinet
• External signage — directional "AED →" signs visible from the street if it's a public-access AED
• Information panel — the access code (where applicable), the registered location, the responsible person's contact
• 24-hour reflective specification — for outdoor AEDs accessed at night

Eye wash and emergency shower

Where chemical exposure or splash risk requires an emergency shower or eye wash station (typically laboratories, chemical handling areas, hospital pharmacies, paint shops):

• Sign at the equipment itself, large enough to be visible from the area where exposure could occur
• Directional wayfinding signs along access routes from work areas to the equipment
• Equipment must be reachable within 10 seconds of exposure (US ANSI Z358.1, often referenced in UK practice)

Materials and lifespan

Standard first aid signage in workplace contexts: rigid PVC for indoor permanent installation. For external first aid station signage, aluminium composite. For tactile/braille accessibility versions, photopolymer or engraved aluminium. For 24/7 outdoor AED signs, reflective specification on aluminium composite.

Browse first aid signs

• Safe condition signs (includes first aid)
• General information signs
• Bespoke first aid signage (custom quote)