A recent survey conducted by the Retail Trust Charity has highlighted the legal duty on employers to maintain a safe workplace for their employees.
More than 1000 people who work in retail in the UK were surveyed and the Charity was concerned by the results, which include:
- 23% of retail staff have been physically assaulted in the past 12 months
- 77% have experienced intimidating behaviour
- 43% are being abused or attacked every week
- 45% feel the abuse has worsened in the past 24 months
- 45% feel unsafe at work
Of those retail workers experiencing abuse, 62% feel stressed and anxious about going to work and 43% are looking to leave their current role or the retail sector more generally.
The Crime and Policing Bill, which is currently at the Committee stage in the House of Lords, introduces a new standalone offence of assaulting a retail worker, which will have a maximum penalty of 6 months in prison and/or an unlimited fine.
Mr. Chris Brook-Carter, the Chief Executive of the Retail Trust Charity, has stated, “Making the assault of a retail worker a specific offence will help Police deal with serious crimes, but will do little to stop rudeness, hostility, or contempt that shop workers tell us they face during every shift.
What was once occasional frustration has become routine abuse and we are being contacted by people who are ignored, disrespected, and shouted at every single day. They are being targeted by shoppers who treat retail workers as less than human and not even worthy of looking up from their phones for. This is taking a massive toll on people’s mental health, and many feel they have no option but to leave jobs they once loved.”
Under Health & Safety legislation, employers have a strict legal obligation to maintain a safe workplace for their employees, and this includes protecting their physical and mental wellbeing. If employers fail to discharge this duty, it may well result in an unsafe workplace.
If this proves to be the case, employees may suffer from stress and anxiety and be absent from work. Worse, they could resign and pursue a claim for constructive dismissal on the basis that, by failing to protect them, their employer has committed a fundamental breach of the duty of trust and confidence that exists between them and their employer and also breached Health & Safety legislation.
So, the clear message to employers is that you must maintain a safe workplace and protect the physical and mental wellbeing of your staff. If you fail to do so, you will not only create a problem of widespread absenteeism but may also be on the wrong end of expensive and time-consuming claims for constructive dismissal.
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