The government is calling for evidence to help understand what more can be done to protect shop workers from violence and abuse.
News
Minister for crime pledges retail safety
By
on 01 April 2019
The National Retail Crime Steering Group met on 12 February to take plans forward after Home Office figures showed assaults to retail staff have more than doubled in a year.
Retail workers suffered around 510,000 assaults and threats in 2017, up from 203,000 incidents in 2016.
Minister for Crime, Safeguarding and Vulnerability, Victoria Atkins, said: “I have every sympathy for retail staff who have been the victims of these appalling acts just for doing their jobs.”
The call for evidence is intended to help strengthen the evidence base on how to protect retail workers from abuse, and to look at all options for addressing these crimes.
The Home Office has pledged £50,000 of funding for a sector-led communications campaign to raise awareness of violence in shops.
NEWS
ILO report: psychosocial risks are now a critical occupational safety challenge
By Belinda Liversedge on 23 April 2026
More than 840,000 people die each year from health conditions linked to psychosocial risks, such as long working hours, job insecurity, and workplace harassment, according to a new global report by the International Labour Organization (ILO).
Public ‘toilet deserts’ in England: a growing health and safety risk for mobile workers
By Belinda Liversedge on 23 April 2026
Businesses need to play their part and ensure their mobile workers have access to basic facilities as public toilets continue to dwindle across the country.
Government rejects call for national asbestos register in schools, citing “duplication” of work
By Belinda Liversedge on 21 April 2026
MPs have rejected calls for a national digital register of asbestos in schools, saying it could “undermine” efforts to comply with existing laws around identifying and locating the toxic material.