Retail workers protection bill passes stage 1

The bill to increase protection for retail workers in Scotland has passed stage 1 in the Scottish Parliament without opposition.

MSPs backed the general principles of the Protection of Workers (Retail and Age-Restricted Products) Bill, introduced by Labour member Daniel Johnson, after a debate in which all parties expressed support for the measure.

Opening the debate, Mr Johnson said his bill was designed to give similar protection for retail workers as currently exists under the Emergency Workers (Scotland) Act 2005, with two central provisions: creating a specific offence of assaulting a shop worker, and creating a statutory aggravation when the offence occurs in relation to the sale of an age-restricted good or service.

Mr Johnson described the latter provision as "perhaps the most important element of the bill", as it placed in law the seriousness of assaulting someone undertaking their legal duty to require verification of age.

He told the chamber that the coronavirus pandemic had "exacerbated the disturbing behaviours of a small minority who, when faced with restrictions, have responded with abuse, threats and violence towards shop staff who are simply trying to uphold those rules and keep us all safe". USDAW, the shopworkers union, estimated that the number of such incidents had doubled during the pandemic, with almost 70% of retail workers citing enforcing social distancing requirements as the biggest single cause of the abuse and violence they faced at work.

The bill would also make it an offence to obstruct or hinder a retail worker carrying out their duties, but Mr Johnson said he accepted concerns that this was drawn too broadly and intended to lodge an amendment at stage 2 to remove the provision.

In response to the Conservatives' Liam Kerr, who questioned whether the maximum penalties of 12 months' imprisonment or a fine were strong enough, Mr Johnson said they were the same as in the emergency workers' legislation, and Community Safety Minister Ash Denham pointed out that more serious offences could be prosecuted under other law.

Click here to view the official report of the debate.