Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (Usdaw) general secretary Paddy Lillis is to retire in July after seven years in the role.

Lillis has been a full-time official at the British trade union, which has around 360,000 members, for over 35 years and previously held the post of deputy general secretary for 14 years.

During his time as general secretary, Lillis has overseen the launch of a number of high-profile Usdaw campaigns, including a Retail Recovery Plan and the New Deal for Workers.

He has also driven forward the Union’s Freedom From Fear campaign, which delivered new legal protections for shop workers in Scotland, with England, Wales and Northern Ireland set to follow suit.

Usdaw deputy general secretary Dave McCrossen will also retire in July after seven years in the position. He has been a full-time official for over 35 years.

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Speaking of his departure, Lillis said: “It has been a real privilege to serve Usdaw over the years and I feel proud of what we have achieved together.

“My time as general secretary has brought many challenges, but I will be retiring with the Union in very good shape financially and with growing membership.”

He added that “the Union has campaigned tirelessly for many years for increased protection for retail workers and stronger rights at work” and that he will be leaving at a time when the Labour government “will be delivering on some of our campaigns”.

Lillis recently welcomed moves by the government, including the minimum wage increase of 6.7% and the National Living Wage increase of 6% from £11.44 to £12.21 an hour from April 2025.

At the time, he said that the union for shopworkers was “pleased that Labour’s new remit for the Low Pay Commission has resulted in progress towards delivering a statutory real living wage and started on the road to ending rip-off youth rates”.

In November, Lillis also stated that Usdaw “welcomed” crime and policing minister Dame Diana Johnson’s speech which laid out the government’s plan to reverse the current £200 threshold in its shoplifting charter, to better tackle the rise in retail crime.

He said: “We are delighted to now have a Labour government that has already included key measures in their legislative programme. We now look forward to a much-needed protection of shop workers’ law.”