The Fed National President Narinder Randhawa said: “Everyone involved in retailing deserves to work in an environment that is safe.  Sadly, the reality is that theft, vandalism, and physical and verbal attacks are all too familiar for many NFRN members.

“For some considerable time, the Fed has been calling for the government to get tough on those who assault retail workers.  The fact that MPs have now passed an amendment to the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill that will make it an offence to assault anyone providing a public duty is very good news indeed.”

Besides calling on the government to take a tougher stance against people abusing shop staff, the Fed has been meeting police and crime commissioners (PCCs) in England and Wales to encourage them to include tackling retail crime in their statutory crime plans.

During the debate in the House of Commons, the Conservative MP for Stockton South, Matt Vickers, said: “Health and social care workers, transport workers and retail workers are owed a huge debt of gratitude, but not everyone in our society has shown them that gratitude.

“As chair of the all-party parliamentary group on the future of retail, I hear the horrific and increasing abuse suffered by retail workers in town centres and shopping parades across the country. Last year, there were 455 assaults on retail workers—not every month, not every week, but every single day.

“The youngster with their first job stacking shelves and the semi-retired person with an extra part-time job on the tills to top up their income to buy their grandkids something nice for Christmas: these are normal people just doing their job. They are often not well paid, they do not have stab-proof vests or body-worn cameras, and every day they have to return to the scene of the crime.”

Justice minister Tom Pursglove said the move would “send a strong message that assaults against public-facing workers are totally unacceptable and will reinforce the seriousness with which the courts treat such offences”.

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Senior retail leaders, including NFRN National President Stuart Reddish, have written to the Prime Minister calling for a new statutory offence of assaulting, threatening or abusing a retail worker.

Attacks on retailers and their staff have been a growing trend for some time. In March last year, the annual British Retail Consortium crime survey reported that over 400 incidents of violence or abuse were occurring daily.

Major triggers

Major triggers for these incidents included challenging customers for ID when purchasing age restricted items or encountering shoplifters.

Nearly a year on, the Covid-19 pandemic has exacerbated the situation and has caused a dramatic spike in such incidents. Retailers have reported being verbally and physically assaulted, coughed at and spat at for trying to implement government rules regarding the wearing of face coverings in shops.

NFRN National President Stuart Reddish said: “Independent retailers have been and continue to be at the frontline during this crisis, and have to deal with physical and verbal threats on a near daily basis for simply doing their jobs.

Not ‘victimless crimes’

“These are not victimless crimes – they have a serious impact on people who have been injured or experienced psychological trauma, as well as their families and the communities they serve.

“The time has come for the government to take immediate action and toughen the law to protect shop workers across the whole of the UK.”

Meanwhile Boots the Chemists has announced that it is to trial ‘body cams’ for staff in some stores in England.

The post Independent retailers urge PM to crack down on violence against shop workers – while Boots to trial ‘body cams’ on staff first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.

In a letter to health secretary Matt Hancock and business secretary Alok Sharma, Usdaw urged the government to intervene to protect staff, saying they were being left too vulnerable to the new strain of the virus which has forced a new sweeping lockdown across other sectors.

The union is also urging retailers to “revisit” safety restrictions in store and consider reducing the number of customers allowed in back to the same limits as those introduced in March.

The letter claimed retail staff were at “greater risk of catching the virus and bringing it home to their families”.

It also asked for stronger action from retailers and the police to enforce the wearing of masks by customers to protect staff.

“Retail staff are working with the public every day and are not only suffering increased abuse but are also deeply worried about catching Covid-19,” said Usdaw general secretary Paddy Lillis.

“That must be taken into account by the government when assessing risk levels and priority for vaccines and testing.

“We are calling on the government to ensure retail workers and delivery drivers are given priority, because they provide the essential service of keeping the nation fed.

“We are also looking for support from the government, retail employers and the shopping public to help make food stores and deliveries as safe as possible for customers and staff alike.”

Meanwhile supermarket bosses have offered to help with the massive logistical challenge of rolling out the Covid vaccine.

Responding to the lockdown plans, BRC CEO Helen Dickinson said: “The government’s testing programme and a rapid rollout of vaccines are the key to bringing an end to this cycle of lockdowns, and we have made clear to government that the retail industry is willing to make its resources available to support this effort.

“The continued rise in Covid cases over the Christmas period is a significant cause for concern, and we understand the need for the government to act.

“Retailers have been playing their part to make stores safe, spending hundreds of millions of pounds on coronavirus safety measures, including implementing social distancing measures and increased cleaning procedures.”

However, Dickinson said the cost of the latest measures for non-essential retailers forced to close would be huge.

“The consequences of these latest restrictions – with non-essential retail already closed for several weeks – will be severe for many businesses who yet again face losing £2bn per week in sales.”

In England, Morrisons has offered its car parks to assist with the vaccination programme.

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