The latest BRC Crime Survey reported more than 850 incidents of violence and abuse against retail workers every day, while customer theft had risen by 27% across 10 of the UK’s largest cities, and retailers lost £953m to shoplifting and spent £720m on crime prevention measures. Recent high-profile interventions by some retail CEOs suggest that these trends are getting worse.
The coalition of leading voices in retail welcomes the Government’s 2021 changes to sentencing council guidelines, for offences committed against those providing a public service, but are looking for Ministers to go much further. Firstly, with a new statutory offence of assaulting, threatening, or abusing a retail worker, similar to the Scottish protection of workers act. Secondly, to ensure the police prioritise these offences and improve their response to incidents.
Paddy Lillis – Usdaw General Secretary says: “Yet again the trade union for shopworkers and retail employers have come together in the face of a shoplifting epidemic to seek urgent action from the Government. Our members desperately need the protection of the law, as 3 in 4 face abuse and too often threats and assaults.
“The protection of workers law in Scotland has captured nearly 7,000 offences of assault and threats against shopworkers in under two years. A similar law was proposed in the House of Commons and rejected by the Government. It is time for them to reverse their opposition and listen to our pleas for this law to be extended across the UK to make it clear that assaulting a shopworker is absolutely unacceptable. We also need a better funded police force and more bobbies on the beat.
“Shoplifting is not a victimless crime. Theft from shops has long been a major flashpoint for violence and abuse against shopworkers. Having to deal with repeated and persistent shoplifters can cause issues beyond the theft itself like anxiety, fear and in some cases physical harm to retail workers. Our members must have freedom from fear of violence, threats and abuse.”
Notes for editors:
Usdaw (Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers) is the UK's fifth biggest trade union with over 350,000 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
Final results of the Usdaw 2022 survey, based on 7,752 responses, show that (last year’s results in brackets): 74.26% (89%) were verbally abused, 49.25% (63%) were threatened. 7.92% (12%) had been assaulted. 40.88% said violence, threats and abuse caused them anxiety at work and 29.97% are now considering changing job. Top triggers for abuse: 34% shoplifting and armed robbery, along with 16% age-restricted sales.
Protection of Workers (Retail and Age-restricted Goods and Services) (Scotland) Act 2021: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/asp/2021/6
Assaults on Retail Workers (Offences) Bill: https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/2725
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
For Usdaw press releases visit: http://www.usdaw.org.uk/news and you can follow us on Twitter @UsdawUnion