February 11, 2025
St John Ambulance, England’s leading first aid charity, has declared 2025 the year of holistic workplace health, urging organisations to update outdated first aid approaches to better protect employees.
As businesses return for the first full working week of the year, employers are being warned that the traditional view of workplace first aid is no longer enough.
First aid today goes beyond treating physical injuries or maintaining emergency kits—it must now include both physical and mental health support to fully safeguard workers.
Between 2023 and 2024, 33.7 million working days were lost in the UK due to workplace injury or illness, with 16.4 million of those days lost to stress, depression, or anxiety.
Lisa Sharman, Head of Education and Commercial Training at St John Ambulance, stated: “First aid—both physical and mental—is a fundamental part of employee wellbeing, and in 2025, it requires a more advanced approach from businesses.”
Workplace illness is becoming an increasingly significant economic burden for English employers. Of the £21.6 billion lost in 2022-2023, £7.1 billion was due to workplace injury, and over twice that amount was attributed to ill health.
Employers have a legal duty to provide a safe working environment and must take reasonable steps to prevent both physical and mental harm in the workplace.
