Today the Retail Trust has released results of a new survey of 1,000 retail staff showing that:

• Two-thirds think verbal and physical attacks have got worse in the last two years.
• A quarter do not report difficult incidents to their employer or manager.
• More than two thirds said they were stressed or anxious about going into work and nearly half had considered quitting their jobs. 

A YouGov poll of 2,000 shoppers commissioned by the Retail Trust also found that:

• Nearly half admit to getting annoyed with a retail worker and of these, 81% lost their temper or became aggressive. 
• They blamed most of the frustration on items being out of stock, not enough staff or checkouts and slow service.
• Two thirds said they were being left frustrated by rising prices. 

Paddy Lillis - Usdaw General Secretary says: “We very much welcome the support of the Retail Trust on this issue. Their shocking survey findings confirm that we do need to continue with our campaigning and next week Usdaw members will out in their workplaces and in shopping centres promoting a culture of respect to the shopping public, as well as urging retail staff not to suffer in silence with the key message of ‘report it to sort it’.
 
“Usdaw runs the annual Respect for Shopworkers in November at the beginning of the Christmas shopping period, because our members tell us that this is the time of year when issues of customer abuse can be at their worst. In the run-up to the festive period, when shops are busier, customers can be stressed and things can boil over. We are saying loud and clear that abuse is not a part of the job.
 
“Usdaw, along with supportive retailers, has secured new protection of workers laws in Holyrood and Westminster, but there is still much more to do. Governments must provide the co-ordination needed to ensure that retail employers, police and the courts work together to make stores safer places for our members to work.”
 
Notes for editors:
 
Usdaw (Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers) is 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.
 
Retail Trust runs a free helpline for retail workers and supports more than 200 British retailers to improve the mental health of their staff. They have launched a ‘Let’s Respect Retail’ campaign to encourage more kindness towards the UK’s three million retail workers.
 
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
 
Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 - part 7 - chapter 3 - Assaults on those providing a public service etc: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2022/32/part/7/chapter/3/enacted
 
Protection of Workers (Retail and Age-restricted Goods and Services) (Scotland) Act 2021: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/asp/2021/6
 
For Usdaw press releases visit: http://www.usdaw.org.uk/news and you can follow us on Twitter @UsdawUnion