The majority of businesses would struggle if there was an accident that caused injury to someone on their premises, according to the British Red Cross.
The research revealed that just 57% of office workers know where the work first-aid kit is, compared to 86% of people who knew where it was at home. And a third of staff (33%) do not even know who the designated company first-aider is.
"Accidents do happen in the workplace," said Amanda Jenkins, head of PR for the British Red Cross. "In 2006/7 over 150,000 injuries were reported and 9m working days were lost due to workplace injury. At the very least, every worker should know where their first-aid kit is located and who their first-aider is."
Office workers also have a poor knowledge of how to treat minor injuries, with the majority (55%) having never received any form of first-aid training.
Perhaps worryingly, given this lack of training, the majority of people (57%) thought they would know what to do with someone suffering heavy bleeding, half (50%) said they could cope with a sprain caused by a trip or a fall and 42% thought they could deal with someone in shock after an accident.
The survey also revealed a willingness among office workers to attend training courses, with 73% saying they would attend a course if it was paid for by an employer.
"People evidently want to have the skills to enable them to help in an incident and employers should react to this," said Jenkins. "First-aid is more than a certificate to meet an employer's legal obligations.
"It demonstrates the employer's commitment to the wellbeing of their employees and for the first-aider it is a development skill that builds confidence and motivation."
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is currently promoting the business benefits of a better health and safety policy in the workplace. These include lower rates of lost working time, better staff morale and lower risks of having to pay compensation.
The HSE has also produced a ‘better business' booklet. For more information see www.hse.gov.uk
