staff safety
In-store safety - the importance of a strong safety culture
89% of the 3 million workers employed across 300,000 retail outlets have experienced violence or abuse at work, according to research by the British Retail Consortium, with over 50 incidents per hour in 2019/20. That’s almost one every minute during any typical 9-hour shopping day.
The shocking stats suggest that risk has become part of the job description for retail staff and that embedding a strong safety culture may now be more important than ever.
There are instances where employees will be working, in isolation or out of earshot of colleagues, that make them more vulnerable to attack. Workers responsible for opening and closing stores may be particularly at risk, along with those responsible for handling cash and banking. In this type of situation, retail stores are often not equipped with the means for staff to call for help and fixed panic alarms may not be accessible.
Staff may also face task-based risks, where potential hazards arise from the very nature of the task being completed, such as working at height or manual handling. Ideally steps will always be taken to mitigate the risk of accidents, but since the risk is not possible to eliminate, it’s imperative that the retail employees involved have a means to access the right help and support, quickly and safely.
All employers have a responsibility and duty of care to ensure that staff feel safe and supported at work, the first step being to make sure that they are aware of potential workplace dangers and equipped with the skills and resources to mitigate risk to their personal safety and wellbeing.
Some employers are already taking decisive steps to further mitigate this risk. Card Factory is one such example. This well-known high street retailer is equipping staff with personal safety devices that allow them to call for help, no matter where they are in store. These devices also have fall detection technology, that will automatically alert a fully accredited and trained Alarm Receiving Centre (ARC) should they fall from height or suffer injury.
The technology Card Factory is using was developed by Peoplesafe, the UK's largest provider of employee safety tech. Retail workers can record any incidents of abuse by activating the SOS Alarm function on any of the personal safety devices issued and should a situation escalate, Peoplesafe’s 24/7 Alarm Receiving Centre (ARC) automatically notifies Emergency Services.
Peoplesafe are also providing body worn cameras to the retail sector, which have been proven to reduce staff assaults by 47%. Unlike other body-worn cameras that just capture incidents for evidence, these cameras are integrated with a safety app that can also call for help in an emergency. This helps protect staff even further in an increasingly hostile environment.
Find out more about how Peoplesafe is protecting retail staff.
