Anaphylaxis Awareness Week: What Employers Can Learn from Benedict's Law

rachel86988

Oct 7

6 min read

Published for Anaphylaxis Awareness Week 2026 (1-7 October)

This week is Anaphylaxis Awareness Week, and the theme this year is "a sense of belonging." It is about making sure that people living with serious allergies feel welcome, included, and safe, wherever they are. At school. At work. At the table.

It is a message that matters, because behind the statistics there are real people and real families.

This post looks at what anaphylaxis actually is, what changed in law this year with the measures commonly referred to as Benedict's Law, and what it all means for you as an employer, whether you run a school, a hotel kitchen, a building site, or an office.

What is anaphylaxis?

Anaphylaxis is a severe, potentially life-threatening allergic reaction that can develop within minutes of exposure to a trigger. The most common triggers include certain foods (such as nuts, milk, eggs, shellfish, and soy), insect stings, latex, and some medications.

When anaphylaxis happens, the body's immune system overreacts. The airways can swell and narrow, blood pressure can drop rapidly, and the person may collapse. Without prompt treatment, anaphylaxis can be fatal.

Signs to watch for

• Swelling of the tongue, throat, or lips

• Difficulty breathing, wheezing, or a persistent cough

• A hoarse voice, stridor, or difficulty swallowing

• Feeling dizzy, lightheaded, or faint

• Pale, clammy skin (or flushed skin in some cases)

• Stomach pain, nausea, or vomiting

These signs can appear alone or in combination, and they can escalate quickly. It is worth noting that skin or mucosal changes may be absent in up to 20% of anaphylaxis cases, according to the Resuscitation Council UK. The key word is speed. Anaphylaxis moves fast, and the response needs to match.

What to do

The first-line treatment for anaphylaxis is adrenaline, given by a prescribed auto-injector device (sometimes known by brand names like EpiPen or Jext) into the outer thigh.

● Call 999 immediately

● Help the person use their adrenaline auto-injector, or administer it if trained and permitted to do so (usually their prescribed AAI or an appropriate emergency device)

● Keep the person laid down. They should not be allowed to stand or walk

● If required give a second dose after five minutes

● Stay with the person and monitor them continuously

Flag: exact treatment protocols should follow the guidance taught on your most recent first aid course and current Resuscitation Council UK guidelines.

Why this matters more than you might think

Allergies are not rare, and they are not just a childhood concern. Allergy UK estimates that around 20 million people in the UK live with allergic conditions. NHS hospital-admissions data recorded 4,323 admissions associated with anaphylaxis in England in 2023/24 (noting that these figures represent episodes, not necessarily individual patients). Hospital admissions for anaphylaxis in England have more than doubled since 2002.

Anaphylaxis does not only happen to people who already know about their allergy. A reaction can occur in someone who has not previously been diagnosed with an allergy. That means someone on your team, or a visitor to your premises, could experience anaphylaxis for the very first time at work.

When it happens the people closest to them need to recognise what they are looking at and what to do about it.

Benedict's story

In December 2021, five-year-old Benedict Blythe had an allergic reaction at his primary school in Stamford, Lincolnshire. He was known to have a cow's milk allergy. That day, he was accidentally exposed to cow's milk protein. His reaction was severe. The administration of adrenaline was delayed. Benedict died. The tragedy highlighted how gaps in planning, communication and emergency response can have devastating consequences.

The Benedict Blythe Foundation has described the failures in allergy planning, communication, training and allergy management surrounding Benedict’s death. Those concerns became central to the family’s campaign for stronger safeguards.

What is Benedict's Law?

Benedict’s Law is the name commonly used for new allergy-safety measures introduced following the campaign by Benedict Blythe’s family.

The legal changes were enacted through section 34 of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026, which inserted new allergy-safety provisions into the Children and Families Act 2014

The guidance expects schools to take a whole-school approach to allergy safety. This includes identifying pupils who need individual arrangements, reducing avoidable allergen exposure, ensuring prescribed adrenaline devices can be accessed quickly, making arrangements for spare adrenaline devices, providing allergy awareness and emergency response training, recording and learning for incidents and near misses.

Some elements are set out as statutory duties now, while others are expectations or good practice recommendations under the guidance. The Government has indicated that further Regulations are intended to create more detailed duties. Schools should check the current DfE guidance and Regulations before treating any particular recommendation as a standalone legal requirement.

What this means for employers beyond schools

Benedict's Law applies specifically to education settings, not to every workplace. However its practical lesson is relevant to any organisation where employees, visitors or customer could experience an allergic reaction.

The principle behind Benedict's Law is straightforward: that the people around someone having an allergic reaction should know what is happening and how to help. That principle does not stop at the school gate.

The legal position for employers

Under the Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981, every employer must provide adequate and appropriate first aid equipment, facilities, and personnel. The HSE's approved code of practice (L74) requires employers to carry out a needs assessment that considers specific workplace hazards, including the risk of allergic reactions.

This may be particularly relevant in food businesses, hospitality, healthcare, laboratories, workplaces using chemicals or latex and outdoor work.

The practical reality

Think about who is in your workplace on any given day. Staff, contractors, visitors, customers. Some of them will have known allergies. Some of them will not know they have an allergy until it happens.

Employers must make adequate and appropriate first-aid provision for employees, based on a first-aid needs assessment. If someone goes into anaphylaxis in your business, the question is whether the person standing closest to them knows what anaphylaxis looks like and has the confidence to act.

Which first aid course covers anaphylaxis?

This is a question worth asking, because not all first aid qualifications cover it in the same way.

Emergency First Aid at Work (EFAW) is a one-day course that covers life-saving basics: CPR, choking, bleeding, shock, and minor injuries. The standard EFAW specification does not include anaphylaxis recognition or auto-injector use. However, employers can supplement EFAW with separate anaphylaxis training where their needs assessment identifies it as a risk.

First Aid at Work (FAW) is a three-day course that covers everything in EFAW plus a much wider range of conditions, including anaphylaxis. Delegates learn to recognise the signs of a severe allergic reaction and practice using a training auto-injector device.

If anaphylaxis is a realistic risk in your workplace, and in many workplaces it is, the three-day First Aid at Work course gives your team the knowledge and hands-on practice they need. But FAW is not the only route to anaphylaxis training. Depending on your needs assessment, a combination of EFAW plus separate anaphylaxis training may be more proportionate for your team.

If you are not sure which approach is right, get in touch and we can help you work it out based on your workplace and your risks.

Five things you can do this week

Anaphylaxis Awareness Week is a good moment to take stock. Here are five practical steps any employer can take:

• Review your first aid needs assessment. When was it last updated? Does it account for allergen risks specific to your workplace?

• Ask your team. Do your employees know whether anyone on site has a known allergy? Is that information recorded and accessible to the right people, with the individual's consent?

• Check your first aid qualifications. Are your designated first aiders trained to the level that matches your risks? If anaphylaxis is a possibility, do they hold a current First Aid at Work certificate, or have they completed separate anaphylaxis training?

• Look at your environment. If your workplace involves food, catering, cleaning chemicals, or outdoor work, what allergen exposure risks exist? Are they documented?

• Talk about it. This week's theme is "a sense of belonging." People with serious allergies can feel anxious about telling others. Creating a workplace where people feel safe to share that information could be the thing that saves a life.

How Training Pathways can help

At Training Pathways, our First Aid at Work courses cover anaphylaxis recognition and auto-injector use. Our trainers come from backgrounds in care, education, construction, aviation, the armed forces, and hospitality, and they understand that real emergencies do not happen in textbooks. They happen in kitchens, on scaffolding, in hotel lobbies, and in classrooms.

We deliver all our courses on your premises, for groups of up to 12, so your team learns together in the environment where they will actually need to use these skills.

We are a Qualsafe Awards approved centre, and all our courses carry nationally recognised, Ofqual-regulated qualifications with three-year certification.

We offer a free First Aid Training Needs call to help you work out your requirements, click here to get in touch rachel@trainingpathways.co.uk