A national campaign to create safer working environments for shop workers has been launched by law firm Foot Anstey and industry charity the Retail Trust.
The certification scheme is aimed at protecting and reassuring shop workers as they face rising levels of abuse and inappropriate behaviour.
Several well-known retailers are already in talks to commit to the Retailers Against Harassment Certification.
Firms taking part will work with Foot Anstey and the Retail Trust to review and improve measures they have in place to protect their workers and deal with any complaints of harassment.
A certificate will then be awarded to demonstrate the business is taking actions it is taking to tackle abusive incidents.
The move follows research by Foot Anstey, which has an office in Bristol, that found 61% of shop workers had experienced offensive behaviour at work since the pandemic started, causing stress, anxiety and loss of self-esteem.
However, just 15% of retailers told the Retail Trust that they had raised awareness or implemented training to deal with the issue.
Retailers aiming to achieve the new certification will be assessed in a number of areas such as the policies and procedures they already have in place to deal with harassment, their leadership’s commitment to tackling the problem, employee experiences, and how complaints are handled.
Foot Anstey legal advisors will work with the retailer to identify risks and opportunities to improve and, where appropriate, refer the business to the Retail Trust team for further support and advice.
Research by the Parliamentary Home Affairs Committee last year found that, of the 87% of retail workers who reported an offence to their employer, nearly half said no further action was taken.
Worryingly, a third said they did not report incidents to their employer because they believed nothing would be done or it was ‘just part of the job’.
Last July industry body the British Retail Consortium (BRC) sent an open letter signed by the leaders of 100 retailers including Ikea, Sainsbury’s and Tesco, to the Prime Minister calling for greater legal protection for retail workers.
New legislation in Scotland has made it a criminal offence to assault, abuse or threaten retail staff but has not yet been introduced across the rest of the UK.
BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson said: “Violence towards shopworkers remains a major problem facing the industry.
“We welcome any initiatives aimed at supporting colleagues and helping retailers to protect their workers.
“Similarly, we welcome new ways to evaluate the effectiveness of measures currently in place to protect colleagues.”
Foot Anstey’s Bristol-based head of retail and consumer Nathan Peacey added: “Our study into harassment in retail presented some alarming results and left us wondering what more could be done to protect this group of keyworkers and help create safer working environments for retail workers.
“Responsible retailers are already aware of the problem and are working hard to address it, and this certification is an opportunity to gauge the efficacy of their actions and show their teams they are taking this issue seriously.
“The program will help retailers to build on their current approach using our insight and legal know-how, and Retail Trust’s 190 years of industry experience.”
Demand for the Trust’s services, which includes metal health support and financial aid, has nearly doubled since the start of the pandemic.
Over that period it has answered 25,000 helpline calls and run more than 11,000 counselling sessions to provide support those facing stress, anxiety, and depression and help people working in the sector pay their bills.
Retail Trust chief executive Chris Brook-Carter said: “More and more people are turning to the Retail Trust because of the rising levels of abuse they are receiving in stores and call centres.
“This programme will help to give retail workers some of the clarity and reassurance they deserve by showing exactly what their employers are doing to protect them.
“The Retailers Against Harassment Certification recognises the important role that employers have to play in creating safer and happier workplaces for their staff, and we applaud any retailers that take part.
“We look forward to helping more people this year as we join forces with Foot Anstey to bring the industry together in tackling such a terrible issue.”
Retail is a specialist area for Foot Anstey, which also has offices in Exeter, Plymouth, Southampton, Taunton and Truro.
