Sainsbury’s has joined the the Retail Trust’s ‘Lets Respect Retail campaign’, which asks shoppers to treat retail workers with kindness and respect.
The supermarket chain is the largest retailer to join the cause and will ask its customers to treat its staff fairly and with respect from next month.
Tracey Clements, chief retail, logistics and supply chain officer at Sainsbury’s, said: “No colleague should come to work worrying about abuse, threats or violence, which can have a serious and lasting impact on their wellbeing.
“We are taking action to keep colleagues and customers safe by investing in a range of measures across our sites but no retailer can tackle this alone, which is why we’re backing the Retail Trust’s Let’s Respect Retail campaign and calling on everyone to treat retail colleagues with the kindness and respect they deserve this Christmas and beyond.”
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The campaign also aims to raise awareness of the impact of crime and abuse on shop workers. As part of the campaign messaging will appear in-store, online and on receipts in the run up to Christmas reminding consumers to show respect to staff.
The Retail Trust has also partnered with trade union Usdaw, the Association of Convenience Stores and the National Business Crime Centre to highlight the extent of retail abuse and crime. According to the Retail Trust, more than three quarters of shop workers reported facing abuse last year.
Chris Brook-Carter, chief executive of the Retail Trust, added: “Some of the UK’s biggest retail and leisure businesses have been getting behind Let’s Respect Retail, showing the industry’s determination to end the unacceptable abuse and violence plaguing our shops and shopping centres and provide more help to those at risk.
“Sainsbury’s support will allow us to reach millions of shoppers as we work together to ensure everyone working in retail is treated with respect. A greeting or a thank you is the very least anyone serving on our high streets should expect, but too many shop workers dealing with daily hostility and aggression are being denied even those smallest and simplest acts of courtesy.”
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