Protection of Retail Workers

Dear constituent,

I have long agreed with calls for a change in the law to protect retail workers from abuse and violence. This is why, during the recent consideration of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill in the House of Commons on 5 July, I voted for an Opposition amendment that would have introduced a new offence of assaulting a retail worker. Disappointingly, the Government rejected the amendment.

Throughout the pandemic retail workers have put themselves at risk to serve their communities. Yet all too often the reward for working so hard has been unacceptable levels of abuse. The Association of Convenience Stores found that 89% of individuals working in local shops had experienced some form of abuse. The British Retail Consortium has reported that the number of incidents recorded last year amounts to the equivalent of one a minute during a typical shopping day.

Nobody should fear verbal or physical assault at work but that is the reality for many retail workers. It must stop and I believe the Government should address it as a matter of urgency.

In 2019, the Home Office ran a call for evidence on violence and abuse towards retail staff. After over a year of no response, the Government finally responded to the findings of this consultation by saying that it “does not consider that the case is yet made out for a change in the law.”

I disagree. As the cross-party Home Affairs Select Committee has concluded, the patchwork of existing offences for prosecuting incidents of abuse and violence against individuals is not adequate to address the escalating scale of offences against retail workers.

I can assure you that I will continue to support efforts to ensure retail workers are given the protection they deserve. I hope that further progress on this can be made as the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill is now considered in the House of Lords.

Thank you once again for contacting me about this important issue.

Yours sincerely,

Peter Dowd