The British Retail Consortium has published a new best practice guide for employers, which aims to increase awareness of the impact that violence against staff has on employees and to challenge the perception that abuse of shopworkers is acceptable. The guidelines called ‘Tackling Violence Against Staff’ are endorsed by trade union Usdaw. These include having clear policies against violence and abuse, robust store based risk assessments, appropriate store layout, security and preventative measures, good staff training and reporting procedures and providing support for staff after incidents.
Usdaw’s Freedom From Fear campaign against violence and abuse of shopworkers was launched ten years ago and has sought to raise the profile of the issue with employers, Government, police and others. While there have been significant breakthroughs in key areas to help prevent and reduce incidents, the Union’s last survey conducted in 2010 still showed that in the previous 12 months 6 per cent of shopworkers had been subjected to violent attack, 37pc had been threatened with harm and 70pc had suffered verbal abuse.
John Hannett, Usdaw General Secretary said: “Usdaw welcomes these guidelines. The BRC’s support for the Union’s Freedom from Fear campaign has been very helpful. Working together we have seen a significant reduction in serious assaults in the last five years.”
“However we share the BRC’s concern that reports of threats and verbal abuse have escalated and the rise in robberies over the last year shows that there is no room for complacency. Usdaw is committed to working with the BRC and with employers to make it clear that abuse is not part of the job. Usdaw also shares the BRC’s concern about the response of the police and the criminal justice system to retail crime, particularly in view of the 20 per cent cut to police budgets which will take 16,000 police officers and 1,800 PCSOs off our streets.”
British Retail Consortium Head of Crime, Catherine Bowen, said: “Retailers invest considerable resources in protecting their workers, stock and property. Protecting staff from violence means taking many factors into account, from the positioning of in-store CCTV to how those who do carry out attacks are prosecuted. Companies are doing a lot to prevent trouble occurring in the first place, for example by giving customer service staff training in how to avoid conflict.”
“Our new guidelines will help businesses be sure they’ve done all they can to prevent staff from being attacked or abused. The question that remains is whether the police and criminal justice system are doing all within their power to protect the country’s three million retail employees. Those who are violent or threatening towards our staff are as guilty of a crime as anyone who behaves that way on the street. The police response needs to reflect that.”
The BRC’s ten-page ‘Tackling Violence Against Staff – Best Practice Guidelines for Retailers’ is available online.
