Retail industry bodies have renewed their call for the UK government to make assaulting or abusing a shop worker a standalone offence, following the introduction of protections for retail workers in Scotland.
The Protection of Workers (Retail and Age-restricted Goods and Services) Act comes into force in Scotland today (24 August) and makes it a specific offence for a person to assault, threaten or abuse a retail worker.
Those who commit the offence could face up to 12 months’ imprisonment, a fine or both.
Retail unions and industry bodies have welcomed the new law, but said it should be rolled out across the rest of the UK to protect all shop staff from abuse.
Earlier this year, MPs on the home affairs committee recommended making shop worker abuse a specific criminal offence.
Around one in seven shop workers has been assaulted by a customer over the past 12 months, according to retail union Usdaw. Nine in 10 have experienced verbal abuse and seven in 10 have been threatened by a customer.
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However, one in five has never reported an incident of abuse or violence to their employer, including 5% who had been assaulted.
“The number of staff who do not report incidents is very worrying,” said Paddy Lillis, Usdaw general secretary. “I totally understand why they may feel it won’t make a difference, but my message to shop workers is incredibly clear: abuse is not a part of the job. It is really important that staff do tell their manager when they experience violence, threats or abuse. If they do report it, we can help to sort it.”
Respondents to Usdaw’s annual survey of 2,000 shop workers said they had been pinned to the wall, sworn at, screamed at, stabbed by a needle, driven at by a van and threatened with rape.
Lillis said the union was “deeply disappointed” that the UK government had continued to resist bringing in similar protections to those now offered to shop workers in Scotland.
“Retail staff across the UK have a crucial role in our communities and that role must be valued and respected, they deserve the protection of the law,” he said.
“The government has promised they would bring forward an amendment to their flagship policing bill in the House of Lords and we urge them to keep their word. Whatever they propose must be substantial and deliver much needed protections.”
Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the British Retail Consortium, said it was “incomprehensible that despite Holyrood’s decisive action, the UK government has so far failed to provide the same protections to shop workers in the rest of the UK”.
According to the BRC’s annual crime survey, the number of violent or abusive incidents rose to 455 a day between 1 April 2019 and 31 March 2020, compared with 424 the previous year.
Earlier this year more than 65 retail bosses from organisations including Aldi, Boots, Marks & Spencer and Poundland wrote a letter to the prime minister urging him to introduce more protections for shop staff.
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