For too long, shopworkers have been expected to put up with theft, threats and violence as part of their daily working lives, while offenders assume they will get away with it. In recent days, businesses like Greggs and Morrisons have exposed the scale of the problem, one that the Government is determined to end, standing squarely behind working people.
It comes as Usdaw’s latest survey of nearly 9,000 retail workers found that last year, nearly 80% of shopworkers had experienced verbal abuse, with many threatened or assaulted. The survey also revealed that around four in ten shopworkers do not report incidents to the police, including 12% who say they were assaulted, underlining the scale of the problem and the significant work still needed to ensure workers feel confident reporting crimes.
Through the Crime and Policing Bill, the Government is taking decisive action to crack down on retail crime, including ending the effective immunity for shoplifting under £200 and creating a new offence of assaulting a retail worker, giving shop staff the same protections as emergency workers. The Bill is expected to conclude its final stages of passage through Parliament soon.
The Prime Minister welcomed the early signs of progress, with charges for shop theft up nearly 17 per cent, but said the scale of shop theft and abuse remains unacceptable. Only firm action, backed by closer working between the police and retailers, will deliver the lasting change workers deserve.
The Government is also backing police forces with new, cutting edge technology to help them tackle retail crime more effectively. In parts of the country, police and retailers are already sharing CCTV footage in real time, allowing officers to identify prolific offenders faster, disrupt organised gangs and build stronger cases by removing delays in gathering evidence.
Ministers are now looking at how this successful approach can be expanded nationwide, ensuring communities across the country benefit from quicker justice and greater protection for shopworkers.
This builds on a consultation the Government launched last year on the police’s use of facial recognition and biometrics, paving the way for new laws so all police forces can use this new technology with greater confidence and more often to catch criminals. This work is supported by the government’s pledge to restore neighbourhood policing, with thousands more officers already in local communities.
The Prime Minister said: “Working people, grafters – go to work, do the right thing, keep our high streets thriving, and yet too often they are abused or assaulted by people who think they can get away with it and just cheat the system. It’s disgraceful.
“We are currently reforming the police across the country so we can free up their time and their money to focus more on street policing, neighbourhood policing, and cracking down on anti-social behaviour. We’ve already got an extra 3,000 neighbourhood officers on the streets, and there’s more to come.
“We’ve scrapped the ridiculous regulation where thieves stealing goods worth less than £200 would not be properly held to account. That was a shoplifters’ charter, and we’ve ended it. We’ve toughened up punishment too. We’re giving police stronger powers, making the abuse and assault of retail workers a specific crime and giving you the same protections as emergency workers.
“I’m not blind to how big a challenge this is. But the number of people charged has gone up by 17% in the latest stats. Shop theft is down – only slightly – but the tide could be turning. We are calling time on the free for all, standing firm, together, against the disgraceful crime of shop theft.”
The Government is also investing £5 million in OPAL, a specialist policing intelligence unit, to supercharge intelligence led policing, identify the most harmful offenders and disrupt the organised gangs targeting shops.
Ministers are working hand in hand with police and the retail sector through the Retail Crime Forum - chaired by the Minister for Crime and Policing, Sarah Jones – to drive practical, sustained change and ensure enforcement keeps pace with the scale of the problem.
Alongside decisive action on crime, the Government is getting on with delivering long overdue reforms to improve security at work and make work pay through the Employment Rights Act – the biggest upgrade to workers’ rights in a generation.
Developed in close partnership with trade unions, the Act will benefit over half of all workers, particularly those in the most deprived areas. It is expected to put up to £600 back into the pockets of people currently losing income through the hidden costs of insecure work.
In total, millions of workers will gain greater security and stronger rights, including two million employees benefiting from guaranteed hours, 6.3 million protected from unfair dismissal, and 1.3 million newly entitled to statutory sick pay.
On workers’ rights Prime Minister said: “I’m on the side of working people like my sister, the backbone of this country, who work harder and harder but see their pay getting them less and less. The people who worry about the cost of living. They don’t want for much. Just a bit of security. Peace of mind. And a little bit of extra money, so they can treat their kids every now and again.
“That is whose side I am on. That is why I’ve frozen rail fares, frozen prescription charges, given renters more power, capped ground rents, and raised the living wage by a record amount. And why – whatever happens in the Middle East – we have cut your energy bills, and we have capped them until July.”
Key measures in the Employment Rights Act include:
- Ending exploitative zero hours contracts and introducing a new right to guaranteed hours.
- Strengthening protection from unfair dismissal by reducing the qualifying period to six months.
- Banning the misuse of fire and rehire practices except in genuine cases of severe financial distress.
- Introducing day one rights to parental leave and sick pay.
- Expanding access to bereavement leave, paternity leave and statutory sick pay.
- Preventing the misuse of non disclosure agreements to silence workers about harassment or discrimination.
- Establishing a new Fair Work Agency to enforce rights and protect workers.
Joanne Thomas, Usdaw general secretary says: “Retail crime remains at very high levels, as demonstrated by the latest police recorded crime statistics. While there has been a welcome small decrease in shoplifting across last year, the fact is retail crime continues to be a significant issue for the sector and, particularly, staff. Usdaw’s last survey found that this is in no way a victimless crime, with two-thirds of attacks on retail staff being triggered by theft or armed robbery. Having to deal with repeated and persistent offences can cause issues beyond the theft itself, like anxiety, fear and physical harm to retail workers.
“We have campaigned along with many retail employers for substantial legislative measures to combat this growing problem and we are pleased that the Government’s Crime and Policing Bill has almost completed its passage through Parliament. This government immediately set about tackling the issue and we are now starting to see the results of their investment in policing and funding for more uniformed officer patrols in shopping areas.
“The Bill delivers a much-needed protection of retail workers’ law; ends the indefensible £200 threshold for prosecuting shoplifters and introduces Respect Orders for offenders. This government has also started the process of reforming police services to put a greater focus on local crime and provide a Local Policing Guarantee. It is our hope that these new measures will help give retail workers the respect they deserve.”
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 with around 370,000 members. Most Usdaw members work in the retail sector, but the union also represents many workers in transport, distribution, food manufacturing, chemical industry and other trades www.usdaw.org.uk
For Usdaw press releases visit: www.usdaw.org.uk/news and you can follow us on Bluesky @usdawunion.bsky.social and Twitter/X @UsdawUnion