St Albans City Centre BID is proud to be the first BID in the UK to partner with the charity Retail Trust, bringing valuable safety, wellbeing and support resources directly to BID businesses.

With incidents of abuse, intimidation and aggression towards frontline workers, BID is encouraging local businesses to take advantage of free safety and wellbeing resources available through a new partnership with the Retail Trust.

Over three-quarters (77%) of shop staff experienced intimidating behaviour last year, and a quarter (23%) were physically assaulted, according to survey of 1,000 workers for the Retail Trust’s Let’s Respect Retail campaign which tackles abuse against shopworkers.

The Retail Trust is the industry’s wellbeing charity, dedicated to improving the health, happiness and wellbeing of people working in retail. Through this new partnership, businesses within the St Albans BID area can access a range of free, bite-sized online learning content, practical guidance and expert resources designed to help colleagues feel safe, supported and confident at work.

The content has been designed by the Retail Trust to be flexible and easy to access, making it suitable for businesses of all sizes. Topics include managing aggressive and abusive behaviour, de-escalating challenging customer situations, personal safety, responding to incidents of theft and shoplifting, supporting wellbeing after difficult incidents, and understanding what to do if you are being filmed without your consent.

This initiative forms an important part of BID’s ongoing Safety and Security Programme, which is focused on helping businesses create safer environments for employees, customers and visitors. By providing practical, industry-led training, the partnership will help staff build confidence when dealing with difficult situations, while giving businesses access to expert guidance that may otherwise be costly or difficult to obtain.

The content is free to access, and designed specifically for customer-facing roles. Developed using insight from across the retail sector, the resources address current challenges facing businesses and provide practical advice that teams can apply immediately in the workplace. St Albans BID is encouraging business owners and managers to share the resources with their colleagues and make use of the support available.

“The Retail Trust charity is industry led so their safety support comes from a place of experience, and we are delighted with our collaboration with them. The safety advice is one of many support activities of the Trust and we are very pleased to be helping them reach the smaller independent businesses who are less likely to have access to such resources.” BID Manager, Vivien Cannon

“Shop workers across the country tell us they are facing unacceptable levels of abuse, aggression and disrespect. The Retail Trust is working with organisations of all shapes and sizes to protect staff wellbeing and change behavior and it is fantastic to see St Albans BID take the lead in providing this support to the city’s businesses. We hope it encourages business improvement districts in other towns and cities to take advantage of the help our charity can provide.”

Chris Brook-Carter, chief executive of the Retail Trust

Businesses can explore the training and resources today at:

go.retailtrust.org.uk/skills/sa