Usdaw’s survey of nearly 9,000 UK retail workers found that 4 in 5 had been assaulted, threatened or abused, with 68% saying that they had suffered an incident triggered by shop theft or an armed robbery. Four in ten retail workers feel anxious about going to work and a third are considering changing their job.
Voices from the frontline: These are some of the comments retail workers shared about theft from shops when responding to Usdaw’s survey:
- “Shoplifter threw a lit ciggy in my face. Another threw a can of gravy at me.”
- “Daily, gangs of thieves shouting and swinging bags with stolen goods in them.”
- Assaulted by shoplifters, death threats, threats of violence once I finished work.”
- “Groups of masked kids come into store taking stock and threatening to stab us.”
- “Called a ‘c*nt’, a ‘pr*ck’ and told ‘try and stop me, see what happens’.”
- “Shoplifters have often threatened to wait for me outside the shop when I finish.”
Joanne Thomas – Usdaw general secretary says: “It is only when you listen to retail workers that you get a real insight into their lives on the frontline; their testimonies are chilling. Usdaw and retail employers are absolutely clear that the staff are far more valuable than the stock and our clear advice to retail workers is not to put yourself in danger. So, we utterly condemn the Conservative ‘have a go if you think you’re big enough’ policy.
“That is a totally irresponsible position and perhaps gives us a little insight into the Tory Government’s 14 years of failure on crime and policing. They drastically cut police numbers and effectively decriminalised shoplifting with the ineffective use of Fixed Penalty Notices for thefts valued under £200. Tory ministers and MPs repeatedly voted down Labour’s attempts to change the law to protect retail workers; their dither and delay exposed thousands to assault, threats and abuse.
“In stark contrast, we now have Labour’s Crime and Policing Bill, which includes a much-needed protection of shop workers’ law; ends the indefensible £200 threshold for prosecuting shoplifters and introduces Respect Orders for offenders. The Government is determined to drive down retail crime by working in close partnership with the police and the retail sector to take the actions that will make the most difference. Their police reforms are moving national responsibilities away from local forces, so they focus on tackling local issues. Also, with their Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, every community now has a named contactable officer, dedicated to addressing local issues, including shop theft.
“After many years of campaigning, alongside retail employers, it really now feels like the Government is listening and taking action to give all retail workers across the UK the protections and respect they deserve. We certainly do not want to return to the dark days of Conservative austerity, police cuts and a refusal to address retail crime, which doubled under their watch.”
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
Usdaw’s survey of 8,980 retail staff across the UK found that in 2025 (% in 2024) [% in 2019]:
- 78% verbally abused (77%) [68%].
- 54% threatened (53%) [43%].
- 11% assaulted (10%) [5%].
Full report: www.usdaw.org.uk/FFFReport2025
Usdaw’s Freedom from Fear Campaign seeks to prevent violence, threats and abuse against workers by engaging with the public, shopworkers and the Government. www.usdaw.org.uk/Campaigns/Freedom-From-Fear
Crime and Policing Bill 2025: https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/3938
For Usdaw press releases visit: www.usdaw.org.uk/news and you can follow us on Bluesky @usdawunion.bsky.social and Twitter/X @UsdawUnion