Britain’s retail and hospitality sector is facing a widespread problem. Too often, employees do not feel safe and this is leading to a recruitment and retention crisis.
We have recently undertaken one of the most extensive research projects on employee and employer perceptions on safety. The research is clear in its findings that safety concerns are real for millions of retail and hospitality workers and that employers underestimate their concerns and feel it is hard to know what they can do to protect their employees.
Employers have a duty of care to keep their employees safe. Too many feel let down by their employers and more needs to be done to protect our workforce both during working hours and beyond. There is a bigger shift happening in the retail and hospitality sectors with many businesses having to reduce headcount, because of lack of resource or cost-cutting measures, leading to lone working becoming more prevalent.
This is an issue that not only matters for employers and employees, but it also matters for our wider economy.
