RETAIL union Usdaw has called for legislation to protect shopworkers after data to be published today shows that nearly eight in 10 staff said abuse from customers has got worse during the pandemic.

The union’s survey of 2,729 shop staff in 2020 found that 88 per cent experienced verbal abuse, nearly two thirds were threatened by a customer and 9 per cent were assaulted.

Shopworkers have reported being “pushed, shoved [and] trolley-rammed” by panic-buying customers and even being coughed on, putting them at risk of contracting Covid-19.