Following extensive campaigning by Usdaw, alongside various employer organisations and retailers, Scotland introduced the Protection of Workers Act (Scotland) in 2021, which made it an offence to abuse, threaten or assault a public-facing retail worker in Scotland. The UK Government recently announced it would introduce a similar offence. Without action from the Northern Ireland Assembly, retail workers in Northern Ireland are at greater risk.

Results from Usdaw’s annual survey of over 5,500 retail staff show that 18% of shopworkers suffered a violent attack last year, compared to 8 % in 2022. The increase in assaults comes during an epidemic of retail crime with official statistics and reports from retailers showing significant increases in theft from shops. The survey also found:

• 70% have experienced verbal abuse.
• 46% were threatened by a customer.
• 18% were assaulted.

Paddy Lillis – Usdaw General Secretary says: “The case for a separate criminal offence for abusing or assaulting a retail worker has been made against the backdrop of a huge increase in the number of incidents in recent years. Our annual Freedom From Fear survey results of thousands of our members across the UK, including in Northern Ireland, shows that the level of abuse and violence remain significantly above pre-pandemic levels. Physical assaults are at an all-time high. The situation is in danger of becoming normalised in shops.

“A separate criminal offence will ensure greater visibility and awareness of the scale of the problem, prioritisation and resourcing from the police, certainty from courts and will send a clear message to members of the public that abuse and attacks against retail workers are wholly unacceptable. It will also allow the tracking of the data around cases as they progress through the criminal justice system.

“Retail workers in Scotland already have the protection of a separate, standalone criminal offence and now retail workers in England and Wales are set to have similar protections. Like the Northern Ireland Retail Consortium, we believe that there is a real danger that retail workers in Northern Ireland will get left behind. As such, we would strongly urge that legislation is introduced to the Northern Ireland Assembly as soon as possible to ensure retail workers in Northern Ireland are covered by such legislation, on a similar basis to the law in Scotland.”

Notes for editors:
Usdaw (Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers) is one of the fastest growing unions in the TUC and the UK's fifth biggest trade union with around 360,000 members. Most Usdaw members work in the retail sector, but the union also has many members in transport, distribution, food manufacturing, chemical industry and other trades www.usdaw.org.uk
 
Usdaw’s Freedom from Fear Campaign seeks to prevent violence, threats and abuse against workers by engaging the public, shopworkers and the Government. www.usdaw.org.uk/Campaigns/Freedom-From-Fear

Usdaw survey: www.usdaw.org.uk/FFFReport2023

For Usdaw press releases visit: http://www.usdaw.org.uk/news and you can follow us on Twitter @UsdawUnion