MORE than one in five people witnessed violence or abuse against retail workers in the past year, a survey for the British Retail Consortium (BRC) has found.

The BRC warned that a new standalone criminal offence for assaulting retail workers in England and Wales in the upcoming Crime and Policing Bill falls short as currently drafted.

It called for protections to be extended to all customer-facing retail workers, including delivery drivers, as they are in Scotland.

BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson said: “For too many people, violence and abuse are now part of the shopping experience. An incident might last seconds, but for workers and bystanders, the impact can last a lifetime.”

Usdaw general secretary Joanne Thomas said: “No-one should feel afraid to go to work, but evidence shows that too many retail workers are being abused, threatened and assaulted for simply doing their job and serving the community.”