Is Your First-Aid Kit Legal? What the Regulations Actually Require
The first-aid kit is the cheapest compliance item in the OHS Act — and one of the most common inspection failures, because boxes get raided, stock expires, and nobody owns the monthly check. Here is what the General Safety Regulations actually require, in one pass.
- ✔Boxes are matched to hazards — an office kit and a workshop kit differ.
- ✔More than 10 employees at work = a certified first aider required.
- ✔Monthly box checks against a contents list — expired stock fails inspections.
- ✔No tablets or medicines in a workplace first-aid box.
When a first-aid kit is compulsory — and what goes in it
Employers must provide first-aid boxes at or near the workplace, stocked according to the hazards present. The baseline contents: wound dressings, sterile gauze, bandages, adhesive plasters, antiseptic, disposable gloves, scissors, tweezers, a CPR mouthpiece, burn dressings, eye pads, triangular bandages, safety pins and a first-aid manual. Then the hazard layer: eye-wash where chemicals are used, burn gel near hot work, splints where fracture risk exists. One box per area or floor in larger premises — a box two floors away is a box that does not exist in the moment that matters.
A workplace first-aid box contains dressings and equipment, not medication. Painkillers, antihistamines and ointments administered internally do not belong in the box, and first aiders do not dispense them.
First aiders: the 10-employee trigger and the ratios
Where more than 10 employees are at work, a trained first aider must be readily available during working hours — one per 50 employees in shops and offices, one per 100 in other workplaces, and per shift where you run shifts. Certificates come from accredited providers and expire; the refresher date belongs in the same diary as everything else (the full first aid guide).
Appoint first aiders in writing like your safety reps, and make sure everyone knows who they are: a notice board with names and photos, the induction, the toolbox talk. The best first aider is useless if the team cannot name them in an emergency.
The monthly check that keeps the kit legal
The single habit that separates compliant kits from inspection findings: a monthly check against a contents list kept inside the lid, owned by a named person, replacing used and expired stock. Add a treatment register — every use logged — and you have both the compliance evidence and the incident pattern data your risk assessment review needs.
Field and lone workers need their own version: a vehicle kit and a check-in protocol, not just the office box. The full OHS framework is in the OHS pillar guide.
Always confirm current requirements with the official source — rules and deadlines change.
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Frequently asked questions
What must be in a workplace first-aid kit?
Dressings, bandages, plasters, antiseptic, gloves, scissors, tweezers, a CPR mouthpiece, burn dressings, eye pads, triangular bandages and a first-aid manual — plus hazard-specific items like eye-wash where chemicals are used. No medicines.
When must I have a trained first aider?
When more than 10 employees are at work: one certified first aider per 50 employees in shops and offices, per 100 in other workplaces — available per shift during working hours.
How often should the first-aid kit be checked?
Monthly, against a contents list kept in the box, with used and expired stock replaced. Assign the check to a named person — unowned kits are the ones that fail inspections.
Last reviewed: July 2026 · How we research our guides
EmployerGuide.online provides general information about South African employer obligations — not legal, tax or professional advice for your specific situation. Laws, rates and deadlines change; confirm current requirements with the official sources linked above, or ask Admin Boss. See our disclaimer.