Usdaw has welcomed the passage of the Crime and Policing Bill through its third reading in the House of Lords, describing the legislation as a landmark moment for protecting shopworkers from abuse, threats and violence.

The bill includes a standalone offence for assaulting a shopworker, removes the controversial £200 threshold for prosecuting shoplifting and introduces new Respect Orders aimed at tackling repeat offenders.

The legislation will now return to the House of Commons for consideration of Lords amendments in the next stage of the parliamentary process.

The move has been warmly received by Usdaw, which represents thousands of workers across supermarkets, convenience stores and the wider retail sector, amid continued concern over rising levels of theft and violence in stores.

According to the union’s latest annual survey of 8,980 retail staff, 78 per cent said they had been verbally abused in 2025, 54 per cent had been threatened and 11 per cent had been assaulted. Usdaw said violence remains more than twice pre-pandemic levels, while shoplifting has more than doubled since Covid.

Usdaw general secretary Joanne Thomas said frontline retail staff should not have to go to work fearing abuse or attack.

“No-one should feel afraid to go to work, but our evidence shows that nearly four in five of our members working in retail are being abused, threatened and assaulted for simply doing their job and serving the community,” she said.

“They provide an essential service and deserve our respect and the protection of the law.”

For the grocery sector in particular, the legislation will be seen as an important step forward, with supermarkets and convenience retailers continuing to face high levels of shop theft, antisocial behaviour and violence against store colleagues.

Thomas said the union particularly welcomed the inclusion of stronger protections for shopworkers and tougher action on theft.

“However, we welcome Peers today passing the Crime and Policing Bill, which includes a much-needed protection of shop workers’ law; ending the indefensible £200 threshold for prosecuting shoplifters and Respect Orders for offenders,” she said.

“After many years of campaigning alongside retail employers, it really now feels like governments are listening and taking action to give all retail workers across the UK the protections and respect they deserve.”

She added that the next challenge would be ensuring the legislation is properly enforced, with coordinated action from government, police, councils and retailers to improve reporting and responses to retail crime.

The bill’s progress was not without political tension. During the Lords debate, Home Office minister Lord Hanson said the government remained in discussions over how the legislation would apply in Wales, after Members of the Senedd representing the Conservatives, Reform UK and Plaid Cymru declined consent.

Thomas criticised that opposition, arguing that Welsh retail workers also urgently need stronger legal protection.

“It is difficult to understand why the main opposition parties in Wales came together to oppose a new law to protect retail staff,” she said.

“Shoplifting in Wales has doubled since the pandemic, and that is directly linked to the increase in attacks on staff. It would be shameful if the Tories, Plaid and Reform have blocked this important legislation from applying in Wales.”

Usdaw also pointed to wider government action on neighbourhood policing and retail crime, including closer working with the retail sector and reforms designed to help police forces focus more directly on local offending, including shop theft.

The union noted that similar protections are already in place elsewhere in the UK, with Scotland having introduced dedicated legislation for retail workers and Northern Ireland progressing comparable measures through its Sentencing Bill.

For food retailers and supermarket operators, the bill will be viewed as a significant signal that the scale and seriousness of retail crime is finally being recognised in law.

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