Usdaw has called for the legal protections for shop workers to be extended to supermarket delivery drivers, who are required to conduct age verification checks before deliveries can be completed. The union says that this can be a real flashpoint for abuse, threats and violence and they deserve the same protection that their in-store colleagues will have.
In her address to the House of Commons, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “Following the Clayman review, we will also bring forward amendments to the Bill in this House to introduce stricter age verification checks, with a stringent two-step age verification system for online knife sales, so that customers have to submit photo ID at the point of purchase and again on delivery. It will be a legal requirement to hand a package containing a knife to the buyer alone.”
Paddy Lillis – Usdaw general secretary says: “Usdaw fully supports the Government’s determination to tighten up the regulation of the online sale of knives. Having seen the horrors of the Southport murders and knowing that the weapons used in this atrocity were ordered online, it is absolutely crucial that more is done to safeguard against underage sales. So, we look forward to seeing what amendments the Government brings forward.
“Crucial in the process is the role of the delivery driver, who will be doing the second age verification on the customer’s doorstep. These checks also apply to all age-restricted products, including alcohol and tobacco. Our members tell us this can be very problematic and they feel vulnerable to attack. The Crime and Policing Bill includes a much-needed protection of retail workers’ law, but it isn’t clear that this will apply to delivery drivers. So, we are looking for the Government to clarify that those important protections don’t only apply to in-store workers.”
Notes for editors:
Usdaw (Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers) is one of the fastest growing unions in the TUC and the UK's fifth biggest trade union with around 360,000 members. Most Usdaw members work in the retail sector, but the union also has many members in transport, distribution, food manufacturing, chemical industry and other trades www.usdaw.org.uk
Usdaw’s Freedom From Fear Campaign seeks to prevent violence, threats and abuse against retail workers: www.usdaw.org.uk/Campaigns/Freedom-From-Fear
Usdaw’s annual survey of 9,481 retail staff found that in the last twelve months:
- 77% have experienced verbal abuse.
- 53% were threatened by a customer.
- 10% were assaulted.
Full report: www.usdaw.org.uk/FFFReport2024
Crime and Policing Bill 2025: https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/3938
For Usdaw press releases visit: http://www.usdaw.org.uk/news and you can follow us on BlueSky @usdawunion.bsky.social and Twitter/X @UsdawUnion