It is no secret that many young people’s first jobs are in the customer service industry. Whether it is in a shop, pub, restaurant, the first experience of working and earning money in this industry. For all the brilliant skills young people learn in these jobs, they can face aggression, harassment and threats of violence more than ever.
This abuse is present in various industries, including banking, which is often unnoticed. Before becoming an MP, I also worked in a bank. For all the skills it gave me in maths, the highly stressful situations involving customers’ finances can lead to aggression, harassment, and threats. Data collected from UK Finance members suggests that there were 10,503 incidents of abuse directed at bank and building society staff in 2024.
On Wednesday 17th June, I held a Westminster Hall debate titled ‘Tackling abuse against people in customer-facing roles’ to highlight that despite the good work the Government has done on tackling abuse against people in customer-facing roles in the Crime and Policing Act 2026, as a Labour Government, we can still do more.
The British Retail Consortium estimates that there are 1,600 incidents a day in the UK against people in customer facing roles, 118 of which involve physical violence, and 36 a weapon. 42% of customer service workers experienced abuse from customers in 2025, up from 36% the previous year. Despite the vital part customer service workers play in our everyday lives, they face an unprecedented amount of aggression, harassment, and violence.
As Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Customer Service, I represent the voices of those who have experienced this abuse and work with those who campaign to tackle it, like the Institute of Customer Service.
The Government, in the Crime and Policing Act 2026, introduced a standalone offence for assaulting retail workers. Those found guilty of the new offence could be sent to prison for up to six months, receive an unlimited fine and be barred from entering certain shops. The Government is also rolling out facial recognition technology in public spaces and using tags to carefully track the movements of serious offenders.
The voices of our 3 million retail workers, 60% of the workforce, are being heard after many years of being ignored and feeling unappreciated. I, and the campaigners in this sector, are hopeful that this will curb the rise in violence.
The success of this needs to be measured by the Department and I asked the Minister to clarify how this would be done.
Yet, the experiences of bookmakers, bankers, and rail workers have not been acknowledged in the act. Would it not help if the standalone offence was extended to all customer-facing workers, not just retail?
All customer service workers should be protected in the same way wherever they are in the UK. They are the backbone of our society and make our lives easier every day.
The Institute of Customer Service have been campaigning for the past 6 years to protect all frontline workers. They have run various campaigns like ‘Service with Respect’ to advocate for treating those in customer-facing roles with kindness, respect, and humanity.
The toll of abuse against customer-facing workers extends far beyond immediate fear. Many have physical injuries requiring medical attention and many require lasting mental health support. This is not something ordinary working people should face.
I am proud that this Labour Government has started to deliver the measures necessary to protect those in customer-facing roles. We can do more. This is a personal issue for me – my mother and father both worked on the Valleys train line and faced regular abuse. I want it to be different for when the children of today get their first jobs in customer service. I want them to enjoy the protections that my parents didn’t have. This Government can provide these protections, as they already are starting to.
