One in four retail workers have faced aggression or violence in-store, with returns and rising prices the main flashpoints, according to new research from law firm Foot Anstey.

The research, of more than 1,300 retail workers and 2,000 customers and undertaken every two years since 2019, highlights growing pressure on retailers to strengthen protections for staff as abuse from customers, and even colleagues, continues to rise.

55% of retail workers believe their employers deal with harassment grievances well, although the majority (51%) say there are not enough laws to protect retail workers, rising to 63% for disabled workers.

However, there have been improvements in how retailers are perceived by their employees, with a 14% decline in workers feeling there are not enough HR protocols in place and a 12% decline in workers feeling their employer ‘doesn’t care’.

“Whilst a majority of employers have listened to employees and implemented policies to protect them at work; there remains a minority who have failed to do so. Of those who’d raised a grievance at work, 51% were unhappy with the outcome.  Ensuring businesses deliver best practice and cater to the specific needs of all demographics is an important next chapter for tackling retail abuse.”

Nathan Peacey, Head of Retail & Consumer, Foot Anstey,

LGBTQ+ workers most at risk

Gay and lesbian workers are more than twice as likely as their heterosexual colleagues to face unwanted sexual contact in the workplace.

20% of respondents who identify as gay or lesbian, have experienced physical violence – the highest among any demographic – and nearly 60% reported hearing offensive language, including specifically homophobic abuse.

Customer concerns on the rise

45% of consumers have seen customers swearing in a retail setting and 59% have heard them raise their voices.

The introduction of self-service checkouts has also been divisive for customers, with over one third (36%) feeling that self-service checkouts have made their retail experiences worse. This figure rises to 47% for consumers with disabilities and 53% for consumers aged 65+.  

Retail abuse not just from customers

The data shows retail abuse doesn’t just take place between customers and workers, but also between retail workers.

Of the retail workers who’d experienced unwanted touching at work, 38% had experienced this from a colleague, whilst of those who’d experienced inappropriate touching of a sexual nature, 40% reported this from colleagues.

“We are hopeful that new duties to prevent sexual harassment at work will help reduce rates of colleague-on-colleague harassment. It is of paramount importance that the whole industry can work together to ensure retail workers feel protected at work – both on the shopfloor and in the staff room,” commented Patrick Howarth, Employment Partner at Foot Anstey.

The Crime and Policing Bill

Foot Anstey says while in-store technology is one method to help tackle the rising tide of retail crime, greater security measures, cooperation between police and retailers, Government policy and better employee protections all play their part.

The new ‘assault of a retail worker’ proposed under the Crime and Policing Bill marks a shift in Government attitudes to more aggressively target abuse and assault of retail workers, notes Lucy Whing, Crime Policy Adviser at the British Retail Consortium.

“Unfortunately, these findings come as no surprise. Retail crime has been spiralling out of control over the past few years, with incidents of violence and abuse climbing to over 2,000 per day.

“The government is taking action to address retail crime through the new Crime and Policing Bill which will introduce a standalone offence for assaulting a retail worker. This will improve the visibility of violence against staff so that police can allocate appropriate resources to the challenge. But this Bill needs to go further and protect all retail staff working in customer facing roles, including delivery drivers, just as the Workers Protection Act does in Scotland.”

Chris Brook-Carter, Chief Executive of the retail industry charity, Retail Trust commented: “Thoughtless, unkind, and aggressive behaviour continues to threaten the wellbeing and safety of those working in retail, as Foot Anstey’s latest research shows. It echoes findings for the Retail Trust’s Respect Retail campaign which found nearly two thirds of retail workers felt stressed and anxious going into work last year due to this abuse.

The Retail Trust is running free online training to help more shop staff deal with the rise in antisocial and threatening behaviour, with the first of three sessions scheduled for Tuesday 21 October. Attendees will be shown how to adjust their body language, tone of voice and choice of words to manage challenging situations, and how to recover following an incident.

To register to take part in the Retail Trust’s Let’s Respect Retail campaign to end abuse and support staff visit: retailtrust.org.uk/respect.