Retail
[ch 1: pages 13-14]Nearly one in ten shop workers have been assaulted in the course of their duties but almost a third did not report the incident, according to interim findings from retail union Usdaw’s Freedom From Fear campaign published in November 2016. Freedom From Fear is one of Usdaw’s key campaigns and seeks to prevent violence, threats and abuse against workers. Each year the union organises Respect for Shopworkers Week to drive home the message that ‘Abuse is not part of the job’ and to promote practical ways of tackling the issue.
Survey respondents reported shocking examples of being assaulted. One said a customer caught stealing tried to strangle them, while another was punched when trying to stop a robbery. Others have been head butted, spat at, kicked, had things thrown at them and been threatened with knives. Several respondents said that customers had threatened to attack them outside work.
The full results of the survey are due to be published early in 2017.
Usdaw also highlighted findings from the latest British Retail Consortium (BRC) annual Retail Crime survey (published in February 2017). This showed a sharp increase (40%) in violence to staff during 2016. There were 51 incidents of violence and abuse per 1,000 employees, up from 41 the previous year, with the biggest increase in aggressive and abusive behaviour.