An employer who has provided numerous employees with first-aid training may be unsure who is entitled to a first-aid allowance. And if there is an entitlement, is a part-time employee paid the full weekly allowance or a portion based on the ordinary weekly hours?

 

How entitlement is determined 

The entitlement to a first-aid allowance depends on the terms of the applicable modern award or enterprise agreement. 

The situation with first-aid entitlements may be illustrated with an example: 

If a company has recently paid for several employees (including a part-time employee) covered under the Food, Beverage and Tobacco Manufacturing Award 2020 to be trained in first-aid, and they all successfully completed the training, and now have a nationally recognised first-aid qualification, what are the conditions for entitlement to a first-aid allowance? And what about the part-time employee? 

In this case, the modern award provides that the first-aid allowance is payable if an employer appoints a suitably qualified employee to perform first-aid duties. 

This means the employees would need to be appointed to perform first-aid duty. Under Work Health and Safety Regulations, the employer is required to appoint an adequate number of workers to administer first-aid. 

In other words, an employee with a first-aid qualification is not automatically entitled to payment of the first-aid allowance. 

To avoid confusion or disputes regarding the payment of the allowance, it would be advisable to identify the employees who have been appointed as first-aid attendants. 

 

WHS obligations

The Work Health and Safety Regulations place specific obligations on a person conducting a business or undertaking in relation to first-aid, including requirements to: 

  • Provide first-aid equipment and ensure each worker at the workplace has access to the equipment  

  • ensure access to facilities for the administration of first-aid  

  • ensure that an adequate number of workers are trained to administer first-aid at the workplace or that workers have access to an adequate number of other people who have been trained to administer first-aid. 

 

Payment for part-time employees 

The expression of the allowance in the Food, Beverage and Tobacco Manufacturing Award determines the method of payment. It states that the first-aid allowance is payable ‘per week’. 

This means a part-time employee with first-aid responsibilities is paid a proportion of the first-aid allowance based on the employee’s ordinary hours compared to the weekly hours (38 hours).