Retail workers protection measures go out to views

Views from the public are being invited on a bill aimed at increasing retail workers’ protection.

Holyrood's Economy, Energy & Fair Work Committee has issued a call for views on the Protection of Workers (Retail and Age-restricted Goods and Services) (Scotland) Bill as it begins its stage 1 scrutiny.

The member’s bill was introduced by Daniel Johnson MSP and aims to increase protection for retail workers by: 

• creating a new statutory offence of assaulting, threatening, abusing, obstructing or hindering a retail worker; and 

• creating a statutory aggravation to that offence where the retail worker is enforcing a statutory age restriction. 

Committee convener Gordon Lindhurst MSP said: “This proposed legislation is specifically intended to look at protections for retail workers by creating a new offence to apply when a retail worker is assaulted, threatened, abused, obstructed or hindered in the carrying out of their job. 

“We want to hear from individuals and organisations about the impact that this piece of legislation would have alongside current legislation that exists.”

• Click here to see the bill and accompanying documents on the Scottish Parliament’s website. Submissions are due by Friday 31 January 2020.