Source · Select Committees · Home Affairs Committee
Recommendation 23
23
Accepted in Part
Set out clear government guidance for employers on supporting retail workers and mitigating crime risks.
Recommendation
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
Government Response Summary
The government highlights ongoing support for victims through NRCSG resources and future work with restorative justice charities. It commits the Home Office and NRCSG to review existing resources and consult on the creation of an Employers Charter, in conjunction with the Suzy Lamplugh Trust, to provide additional advice, training, and support for victims and employers.
Government Response
Accepted in Part
HM Government
Accepted in Part
The work of the NRCSG has a strong focus on providing support those who are victims of violence and abuse in the course of their work in a retail setting. On 22 April 2021 the British Retail Consortium hosted a webinar event to launch the resources produced by the Task and Finish groups; the webinar opened with a video of a retail manager speaking about her experience of violence and abuse at work. The impact on victims have also been captured in case studies on the NRCSG webpage hosted on the British Retail Consortium website. The resources developed by the Task and Finish groups to support victims include a link to Suzy’s Charter. Further work is ongoing to explore other ways to support victims, for example the Home Office is currently working with restorative justice charities to include further information on the NRCSG webpage about how restorative justice interventions can be used, where appropriate, in relation to incidents experienced by retail workers. The Home Office, working with the NRCSG, will review the resources provided on the webpage to consider what additional advice, training and support victims and employers would like to see. We will consult the members of NRCSG about whether they would support the creation of an Employers Charter, working with the Suzy Lamplugh Trust.