Central England Co-op reports rise in ‘violent’ threats to staff during lockdown

Central England Co-op has reported a rise in “violent” offences being carried out against its staff amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

The company reported problems which include verbal abuse and threats, alongside customers threatening to cough and spit on employees.

Figures for the past four weeks have revealed an increase in verbal abuse from 11 per week to 24, which, in some cases, is over four times higher than the same period last year.

The retailer, which has over 260 food stores and petrol stations across 16 counties has been “forced” to reiterate a plea for its teams to be treated with “care, compassion and respect”.

Incidents have taken place in the following areas: West Midlands, Warwickshire, Worcestershire, Staffordshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Rutland, Nottinghamshire, Northamptonshire, Lincolnshire, West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, Suffolk, Norfolk, Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire.

Central England Co-op CEO Debbie Robinson said: “Throughout these uncertain times our colleagues have been and continue to do everything they can to ensure our community stores have enough food and essential items for everyone.

“For anyone who does not support us, we will continue to work closely with local police forces to showcase that we have a zero-tolerance approach to any violent or threatening behaviour towards our colleagues.”

She added: “I am a strong campaigner for shop workers to be treated as public servants in the eyes of the law, in cases where they suffer violence or risk from the public.

“I would hope their status in society will now be permanently elevated and I am redoubling my efforts in lobbying for a change in sentencing law to ensure those who choose to attack our colleagues are held accountable for their actions on the same level as other frontline workers.”

The news comes as shop workers trade union Usdaw has released statistics revealing one in six shop workers have suffered abuse on every shift, during the coronavirus pandemic.

The statistics revealed 62% of the 4,928 shop workers surveyed have experienced verbal abuse, with almost a third being threatened by a customer. Usdaw also revealed 4% of employees were assaulted, which amounts to more than 3,500 every day when averaged across all retail workers.