Retail chiefs condemn ‘deplorable’ abuse against shopworkers during pandemic

Retail chiefs in Scotland have condemned “utterly deplorable” abuse towards shop workers as a UK-wide survey found it soared during the pandemic.

A British Retail Consortium (BRC) survey found incidents of violence and abuse almost tripled, from 455 per day in 2019/20 to 1,301 in 2020/21.

The BRC said this spike was concentrated in a significantly reduced number of stores and retail operations as much of the industry was closed throughout the year because of Covid-19 restrictions.

In Scotland, a new law which made it a specific offence to threaten or abuse retail staff came into force in late August last year.

Ewan MacDonald-Russell, head of policy at the Scottish Retail Consortium, said: “The level of abuse and violence directed towards shopworkers in the first year of the pandemic was utterly deplorable.

“Whilst Scottish shop workers were keeping the country fed and supplied during the pandemic, they faced over 100 incidents of shopworker abuse every day.

“It underlines why Scotland’s retailers campaigned so strongly for the introduction of the shopworker protection legislation which came into force in August 2021.

“Far too often the skilled and passionate store employees who help make our retail industry such a vibrant place to work face unacceptable abuse, intimidation, or worse, whilst serving the community.

“It comes despite record spending by retailers on crime prevention.”

The BRC said it understands from Police Scotland that in the first six months 1,655 incidents were reported under the new legislation, with 958 (58%) sent on to prosecutors for action.

The BRC crime survey covers the period from April 1, 2020 to March 31, 2021.

It found that for every 1,000 employees there were 155 incidents, meaning more than 15% of the workforce suffered some form of harassment.

It also found there were 21 incidents a day of violence with injury, and 104 a day of violence without injury.

Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the BRC, said: “These figures make particularly grim reading as they came at the height of the pandemic when the ‘hidden heroes’ of retail were working tirelessly to look after customers, keep shelves stocked and ensure orders were fulfilled.

“It is shocking that this huge rise in incidents took place in a smaller pool of stores and other locations as much of the industry was in lockdown.

“As our colleagues implemented Covid safety measures to keep the public safe, too many were met with hostility, abuse, threats, and assault.”