Violence against shop staff

Violence and abuse against shopworkers has almost doubled on pre-pandemic levels, the latest figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) annual survey show. There were more than 850 incidents a day in 2021-22 compared to 450 a day in 2019-20, including racial and sexual abuse, physical assault and threats with weapons.

The Usdaw retail union also released shocking statistics from its annual survey of more than 7,700 retail staff. While the number of incidents against shopworkers has fallen since the exceptionally high levels seen during the pandemic, they remain higher than pre-Covid levels in 2019.

In the 12 months to March 2023, 74% of shopworkers experienced verbal abuse, compared to 68% in 2019; 49% were threatened by a customer (compared to 43%); and 8% were assaulted (compared to 5%).

“No one should feel afraid to go to work, but our evidence shows that too many retail workers are,” said Usdaw general secretary Paddy Lillis.

And he described as “shocking” the fact that nearly three-quarters of Usdaw members working in retail “are suffering abuse from customers, with far too many experiencing threats and violence”.

Although Usdaw, the BRC and others secured an amendment to the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act with the aim of better protecting people working in retail, the Home Office does not track use of this amendment, so it is impossible to see if it is having an impact.