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Shop violence guide comments

by Mark Rowe

New guidelines have come out for protection of retail employees from violence in the workplace.

The Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) and the shop worker trade union USDAW are supporting the revised British Retail Consortium guidelines Tackling violence against staff that aim to help retailers of all sizes improve staff protection and make it clear that abuse from customers should not be considered ‘part of the job.’

The guide covers safety-conscious design of the workplace, conflict management training, the law on health and safety, signage, and procedures for when an incident occurs. For a copy of the ten-page document visit the BRC website.

Visit http://www.brc.org.uk/brc_show_document.asp?id=4443&moid=8102

The BRC points out that most of the suggestions are simple and cost little to put in place. At Usdaw John Hannett, General Secretary said: “Usdaw’s own surveys in recent years have highlighted the scale of under-reporting, which found that one in four staff did not report an incident to their employer or the police in 2013. That is why the Union supports the BRC’s message to employers on the need for clear policies on violence in the workplace which are well communicated to staff, so that they know that it will not be tolerated and understand how the organisation will protect them from violent or abusive acts.

“Usdaw wants to see a greater commitment from the Government to preventing violence against shop workers. All too often we see violent criminals getting away with lenient sentences, let off with a caution and worst of all, in too many cases, not even being charged. We have particular concerns around the sale of alcohol and the legal obligations placed on shop workers to police the law. Whether it is ensuring alcohol is not served to minors or refusing to serve those who have already had too much; shop workers are on the frontline of enforcing licensing laws. All too often that can lead to violence, threats and abuse. Parliament passes these laws, which we support, and expects shop workers to police them. So we are looking for Parliament and the Government to provide the necessary protections.”

Crime Prevention Minister Norman Baker said: “Everyone has the right to feel safe at work and the National Retail Crime Steering Group, which I co-chair with the British Retail Consortium, considers violence against retailers to be a high priority.

“The government supports the publication of these guidelines today, which we hope will help retailers better protect themselves and their staff and educate shop workers in how to diffuse potential flashpoints. We also hope this guidance will improve crime reporting rates which we know are under reported. We will not tolerate violence towards shop workers, and have been very clear that the courts can take into account violence against those serving the public as an aggravating factor in considering the appropriate sentence.”

ACS Chief Executive James Lowman said: “Violence against staff and retailers is unacceptable but still a huge problem with 51 per cent of convenience retailers reporting some experience of violence or verbal abuse in the last year. We are supporting this guidance document to aid retailers to mitigate violence in their business and support staff.”

And Helen Dickinson, pictured, Director General of the British Retail Consortium, said: “Retailers invest considerable time and resources in building and training their teams as well as protecting their workers, stock and property. Our guidelines are designed to help businesses of all sizes share and understand best practice in preventing staff from being attacked or abused.”

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