Recommendation 23

We welcome the Government’s creation of downloadable digital assets for the #ShopKind campaign which we hope will raise awareness amongst the public about retail crime and its impact on shop workers. However, we think this action completely fails to address the problem of employers who do not support their workers to report abuse, ban repeat offenders or access counselling or training. The language around “options that may be provided” by your business will be of little use to the many retail workers whose employers do not provide those services. We recommend the Government sets out clearly in its guidance, addressing itself directly to employers, the actions they should be taking to support retail workers in the context of retail crime. This should state: • The employer’s responsibility for ensuring retail crime is reported and recorded effectively. • The employer’s responsibility proactively to analyse and mitigate risks to retail workers. • The employer’s responsibility to ensure appropriate training and counselling services are available or to signpost its employees to relevant resources. (Paragraph 107) 66 Violence and abuse towards retail workers