Co-op faces staff safety backlash over lone working store policy
The Co-op has come under fire from staff and campaigners over its decision to roll out lone working shifts in more stores, despite rising incidents of shoplifting and threats against employees.
The convenience retailer is expanding its Project Lunar scheme, first trialled in five locations, to 60 stores across its estate, reported The Guardian.
It is understood that the scheme allows just one colleague to be on duty during quieter times of the day. However, staff and campaigners say the policy is putting workers at risk, especially amid growing levels of retail crime.
In addition to Project Lunar, many other stores already operate a “one-on-one” staffing model where one employee is public-facing while another is in the stockroom or on break.
Workers say this leaves them exposed to threats, with some reporting being verbally abused or threatened with knives and screwdrivers.
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Campaign group Organise said more than 80% of surveyed Co-op staff felt unsafe due to low staffing levels. “Co-op knows the violence and abuse workers face,” campaigner Honor Barber told the publication, adding that rather than “providing adequate staffing levels to make workers feel safer [they] are instead investing in new headsets and forms of AI surveillance.
“Workers are clear on what they need to feel safe – minimum staffing levels per store.”
The convenience giant said 90% of overall staff hours are not lone working and insisted that stores are structured to avoid colleagues working alone during deliveries or at busy times.
It added that it had invested £240m in safety and security over the past five years, four times the sector average per store.
A spokesperson said: “Co-op is committed to serving and supporting our communities, providing good value prices, excellent promotions and quality products for all of our members and customers.
“Alongside a rewarding and safe working environment for our colleagues across all our stores. Co-op has been at the forefront of campaigning for a crackdown on retail crime, investing in the very latest security measures, with the safety and wellbeing of all colleagues as our clear priority.”
4 Comments. Leave new
Happens all the time . On Sundays as a rule only two on from 7 – 14.30 two from 14 .00 until finish . Both shifts you would have 2 x 45 minute breaks . Yes there are generally more staff on days with deliveries . Now only because we are getting busier is their a third person b until 20.00 leaving two to finish up one being a supervisor trying to do their jobs the other being customer services trying to serve people at the same time running about like a headless chicken trying to face up the store and put out stock .
1 to 1s have been commonplace since I started almost 2 years ago. Even on really busy shifts when the area is full of holidaymakers. Run round trying to put stock out and serve customers. One 20 minute break in 7 hours. The Co-ops claim of a safe environment is hardly true, they have done nothing regarding customer threats. Then there is staff bullying with multiple complaints which have been ignored.
We have been doing 1 to 1s since I started almost 2 years ago, even in busy times. They have stopped 9 hour shifts where we got two half hour breaks and put us on 7 hour shifts where we get one 20 minute break. A safe working environment it isn’t, there are customer threats and aggressive reactions. There are multiple complaints about bullying which have not been investigated and just ignored.
I decided that I would never talk to shop staff in a friendly manner anymore, as I was accused of being creepy and banned from a local Co-op shop. Baring in mind, this came out of nowhere and the manager even thought it was worth laughing about when I left shop feeling disgusted. There is no way in hell I would ever talk to any shop assistant now owing to this situation. I never committed a crime and not likely too, but to be accused has now had an increased level of awareness about inappropriate behaviour. What made me shudder in disbelief is that I have seen numerous people race out of the shop with loads of items when there is no security around, and staff just stand and watch them leave. In my case I was shown up in front of over 6 members of the public and other staff by the manager who without any concern had me humiliated. Now I will be more observant and won’t talk to staff without good reason in the fear I would be shown up by such an individual. I am never going back to that store ever again, as it has disgusted me how inappropriately I was treated and humiliated by the Manager. So if Co-op are putting their staff at risk, then they should be well advised about their sense of judgement, before staff are put at risk by these constant thefts. This will be my last support effort in favour of the staff, whom I use to get on with before being wrongly treated and humiliated. God bless, I will be shopping elsewhere from now on, and without friendly mediation with staff, as I don’t want to be accussed of a criminal offense, when I was only trying to improve moral.