78% of frontline workers faced abuse

Usdaw released its Freedom From Fear survey results on 18 March 2026, publishing findings gathered from retail staff about incidents that occurred during 2025. (Usdaw: ) The union’s poll of over 8,980 retail workers found 54% said they had been threatened by a customer in 2025 and 11% reported being physically assaulted during the same period. (Talking Retail: Usdaw report: ) Usdaw states the survey was largely face-to-face in workplaces during 2025 and explicitly adds that retail home delivery drivers in the sample faced similar levels of abuse to in-store staff. (Usdaw report: ) The report identifies the two leading triggers for incidents as customer frustration—attributed to self‑service checkouts, out‑of‑stock items and low staffing—and theft from shops, with theft and armed robbery linked to over two‑thirds of incidents according to union respondents. (Talking Retail: Usdaw report: ) Usdaw used the findings to press for legal changes, explicitly calling for a UK “protection of retail workers” law, an end to the current £200 threshold for prosecuting shoplifters and extension of protections to home delivery drivers, and it welcomed recruitment of an extra 2,400 neighbourhood police officers as part of a 13,000-officer programme. (Usdaw report: ) The British Retail Consortium’s recent crime benchmarking reported 5.5 million detected shoplifting incidents in the last year and noted retailers have invested heavily in prevention, with commentators citing more than £5 billion spent on improved security measures over the past five years. (BRC: Insider Media: ) Despite some year‑on‑year improvements the BRC said daily incidents of violence and abuse remained at about 1,600 per day in 2025, making last year the second‑highest level on record for retail-sector attacks on staff. (BRC: )