The most treasured part of any company areits employees. You can easily replace things such as desks, chairs and computers in the event of a disaster, but it is always hard to replace an employee. They are the ones who get the work done, and therefore, something must be done to keep them healthy and safe. This is even more important when the workplace hazards are especially high, places such as the nuclear power plant or a slaughterhouse rank high. Jobs that involve staying outside for long hours are also just as hazardous, if not more in some cases,such as the roof worker, construction worker or a plumber or painter. There are often incidents where people fall off a roof of a building. But one can just as easily get hurt tripping over a box or falling down a flight of stairs.

To help reduce the danger to life and limb, while also ensuring a totally secure work environment, many countries in the world have made laws and regulationswhich state that employers are expected toplace the workplace safety of their employees in a very high regard. Case in point: South Africa.

A lot of provisions for employee safety have been detailed in theOccupational Health and Safety Amendment Act, 1993. Of key interest is regulation 3 which explicitly states right at the beginning that the employer must provide first aid treatment to the employees in case of an emergency or an injury. It goes on to make certain rules that the employer must keep in mind such as the compulsory first aid box or boxes which need to be kept close to the workplace if there are more than 5 employees are who are employed there. It also says that if there are more than 10 employees, it is absolutely mandatory for one of them to be certified by the SA Red Cross, St. John or the SA First Aid League to provide competent first aid.

But what are the things that you must keep in a regulation 3 first aid kit? The first thing you need to keep in mind is that a medical emergency could happen at any time, and it is best to be prepared for any and all kinds of emergencies. Therefore some of the things you absolutely must have in your first aid kit are:

1. Antiseptics, in case of a wound. You must also keep cotton swabs to clean the wounds.
2. Bandages. Both triangular and roller bandages should be kept in hand, depending upon the severity of the cut/wound. You must also keep safety pins in case you are using triangular bandages to keep the bandage in place.
3. CPR mouth piece, in case the employee has blacked out from oxygen deprivation, etc.

A drug store may not always be close. So you should also stock your first aid kit with medicine for a cough, sore throat or a fever.