08 July 2009
Jocelyn Dorrell

You've carried out a first-aid needs assessment and decided how many trained first-aiders you need. But so far your call for volunteers has been met with a resounding silence.

Whether it's lethargy, volume of work, or even fear of being responsible in the event of someone being injured or becoming ill, employees are often reluctant to put their hands up when it comes to first-aid training. So how can you go about filling safety roles - whether it's first-aiders or fire wardens - and how do you maximise the chances of your recruits being able, enthusiastic and diligent?

In low-risk environments such as offices, where health and safety may only get a mention at induction or when the room temperature is too cold, a simple call for help may not be enough when it comes to recruiting first-aiders. But a shortage of volunteers doesn't constitute a valid reason for inadequate first-aid support, and the HSE would be likely to take such a breach seriously.

 "An employer saying, 'I had a go but nobody fancied it' is a bit like saying 'we got these guards for those machines but nobody wanted to use them so we just left them off'," points out Paul Coppin, a partner at law firm Eversheds.

You might win over reluctant employees by explaining the obvious benefits of basic first-aid (or fire safety) knowledge, which extend beyond the workplace.

"A starting point is communications about the value and importance to the business," says Neil Budworth, corporate health and safety manager at energy provider E.ON UK. "But people who are taking time out to complete the training have got to feel there's a value - not just that it's a question of the company's legal compliance."

E.ON doesn't normally have any problems filling first-aid roles, but where companies do face this difficulty, Budworth suggests pointing out that first-aid training is a good addition to employees' CVs, and emphasising how useful first-aid skills are outside work: at home, or where employees have roles in the community.

"Going on a first aid at work course is an excellent way of boosting someone's self-confidence," argues Jim Dorman, training manager at Scottish first-aid charity St Andrew's Ambulance Association. "... I believe first aid should be a social skill: everybody should have some form of first-aid training."

Demonstrating that the health and safety staff and senior management are taking their fair share of responsibility is also advisable: it's much easier to persuade someone else about the value of first-aid skills if you've volunteered yourself.

Nominations time

Some organisations side-step the problems of gathering volunteers by attaching first-aid duties to particular job roles. This method may be appealing in organisations with reticent staff, but it isn't without its problems, particularly if it's introduced as a policy change while people are in post.

Following the merger of the Victoria University of Manchester and UMIST in 2004, the HR department of the newly unified University of Manchester undertook a broad review of safety roles to create a standardised system across the new organisation. Part of the outcome of the review was that some jobs, such as the university's 24/7 security staff, would have first-aid duties incorporated. In many cases, employees in these posts were already trained first-aiders. But there was some resistance from those who weren't.

"One or two people did see it as the thin end of the wedge," acknowledges Melanie Taylor, the university's safety adviser and safety team manager. "But the first-aid coordinator had a discussion with them on a one-to-one basis to deal with their concerns and explain why we were changing things. That one-on-one conversation is important."

Negotiations are ongoing but the plan is that first-aid duties will be included in official job descriptions in the near future.

There are dangers associated with forcing the issue, not least that a reluctant first-aider may not make a good first-aider. Consultation is important, and it will be necessary to consider carefully which job roles should be allocated first-aid duties; should it be those with line-management responsibilities or more junior staff, for example.

An alternative is to stick to the voluntary route until you have a change of staff, then include first aid in the job spec for your new recruit. But if you do allocate first-aid duties to roles rather than individuals, you will need to be sensitive to genuine reasons people may have for not being able or willing to carry out the tasks, such as phobias or other health conditions.

Pay review

The question of whether to offer a reward for additional safety duties is a perennial. Any kind of incentive for safe behaviour is controversial, and inevitably some will see such a move as bribery. Certainly such a system is open to abuse and may attract employees who volunteer for the "wrong" reasons. Paying staff for taking on first-aid duties also adds another difficult dimension: if further down the line it becomes clear that they aren't taking the role seriously, removing their duties will also mean cutting their pay.

Following the University of Manchester merger, an HR review of the honoraria paid for various add-on roles revealed dozens of different payments were available and for some it was a lucrative business as they went about collecting extra duties.

"We had a big discussion about it and the outcome was that if a person was volunteering only because of the money, they weren't really the person we wanted," Melanie Taylor recalls. Following consultation, the university decided to phase out payments for first-aiders, who were told that the payments would cease after their next training was due. The move was well received and they "only lost a few".

"Overall I would steer clear of financial incentives if possible," Taylor concludes, "because what you're doing is encouraging the right behaviour for the wrong reasons."

At E.ON, first-aiders receive a token annual payment as a retainer, but Neil Budworth is broadly in agreement with Taylor when it comes to remuneration. "There's always been a small payment for first-aiders; it's custom and practice," he explains. "But my general feeling for other safety roles is that you shouldn't offer payment."

He offers the example of safety reps. Historically E.ON has found it difficult to recruit enough staff as safety reps; "In the call centres, the perception is that you'll just get grief." So the energy company is now working with union Prospect to offer new reps not just training in safety skills but also in management techniques, so volunteers get enhanced career development and something valuable for their CVs.

But while he is keen to promote the safety rep role by offering some compensation in the form of training, Budworth would not consider paying safety reps. He draws a distinction between reps who must be proactive advocates of safe working, and first-aiders who are reactive and respond to incidents.

If you decide you don't want to pay first-aiders but still want to offer some reward, less controversial alternatives to cash incentives include vouchers, extra leave entitlement and small gifts such as a bottle of champagne. And then there's always straightforward praise and encouragement, points out Taylor.

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Easy sell

Under the Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981, employers must provide adequate and appropriate equipment, facilities and personnel to allow first aid to be given to employees if they are injured or become ill at work.
There are two different types of first-aid personnel. An appointed person takes charge when someone is injured or ill (they call the ambulance if one is needed) and maintains the first-aid box; they must not administer first aid for which they haven't been trained. A trained first-aider has had training in administering first aid and must hold a current certificate.
From October, changes to the training regime will introduce a new Emergency First Aid at Work qualification (see page 33). More information is available at www.hse.gov.uk/contact/faqs/firstaid.htm

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Legal rumour

Getting to the root of why employees are reluctant to volunteer as first-aiders may be the key to solving a recruitment crisis. An oft-cited concern from employees is that they could be held responsible for an error of judgement if they give the wrong treatment to an injured person, but these fears are unfounded.

Budworth confirms that he has heard the concern voiced, but has never heard of a first-aider coming under such scrutiny. "As an employer, we would absolutely support the person if there were any questions raised," he says.

Melanie Taylor has little patience with the liability rumour: "There is no evidence that insurers won't view sympathetically someone who has acted with good intentions and under pressure. No one has ever been prosecuted [in these circumstances]. If you do your best on the day, that's all that anyone can expect."

Manchester University runs its own first-aid training in-house and covers this aspect, explaining that there's "nothing behind" such concerns.

"It's hard to picture a situation when a first-aider could make an injury much worse," says Paul Coppin. "And if you did make a situation worse, your employer becomes vicariously liable for your negligence."

Coppin says there is a "theoretical possibility" that an injured employee could sue a colleague who administered first aid, but he has never heard of it and doesn't envisage it happening; the injured employee would logically take any claim against the employer.

Provided the first-aider acts "reasonably carefully" and within their training, they are unlikely to breach the duty of care they owe to fellow employees. The first-aider would need to do something fairly extreme - "treating a paper cut with amputation", Coppin suggests - to be vulnerable. "To render themselves liable the actions of a volunteer would need to be dreadfully, extremely wrong," he argues. "They would need to act a long way outside
their training."

Coppin adds that if there were ever a case, the court would take into account the first-aider's position as a volunteer, which affords them the special status of rescuer. But the risk of a first-aider ever being sued is a "miniscule, vanishingly small" one.

The HSE's position is that it is "very unlikely" that legal action would be taken against a first-aider acting in line with their training. The executive recommends that companies check with their insurers to see whether their policies cover first-aiders' liability.t

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When persuasion doesn't work

If education and persuasion don't yield sufficient numbers of volunteers in your organisation, consider:

• volunteering yourself
• asking safety reps and/or senior managers to volunteer
• including "qualified first-aider" in the person requirements when recruiting new staff
• adding first-aid duties to certain job roles for those in post - this will require consultation
• offering a token incentive.
  

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Selection procedure

If you're fortunate enough to find yourself with a pool of volunteers - either because your workforce demonstrates high levels of involvement or because your cash payment is so competitive - there are various points to consider when making your selection. First-come, first-served may be fairest, but there are other considerations.

"It's incumbent on employers to choose someone who can cope with the intensive course of study [for the First Aid at Work qualification]," advises Jim Dorman. "They also need to be able to cope in an emergency, keep a cool head, and be confident enough to give instructions to others and to act calmly to give comfort to the injured person."

Making sure you have adequate coverage is a priority. If all of your volunteers are sales staff who spend substantial amounts of time out of the office, are you going to find that you are perpetually under par? When assessing your first-aid needs, you should also make sure different floors and departments are catered for; if the workplace is a mix of office staff and lab staff, for example, simply having office-based staff as first-aiders may not be wise; it's worthwhile having representatives with first-hand knowledge of any higher-risk processes. Particular attention should be paid to making sure first-aiders are evenly spread out over sprawling sites and very large premises - a 10-minute walk to reach a casualty won't be acceptable.

Finally, a clearly written policy for first-aiders, developed in coordination with the HR department (if you have one) and outlining the broad responsibilities that come with the role, should make it easier to remove someone from post if they don't fulfil their duties. This will be all the more important where the role attracts financial compensation.

Categories:
Fire, Safety, Article, First aid