Pledge
“Labour will … create a new specific offence for assaults on shopworkers that will protect them from threats and violence”
Our verdict
The Crime and Policing Bill, which is currently progressing through Parliament, contains a new offence of assault against a retail worker.
Labour’s manifesto pledged to create a “new specific offence” for assaults on shop workers.
Assaults of retail staff in their workplace can already be prosecuted in a variety of ways through existing legislation, including the Offences against the Person Act 1861, the Public Order Act 1986 and the Crime and Disorder Act 1998.
Labour’s change would make it a specific offence in law to assault a member of shop staff. A law passed in 2018 made it a specific offence to assault an emergency worker (such as police, paramedics, or firefighters) or those helping them.
This pledge applies to England and Wales, as criminal law is largely devolved in both Scotland—where a similar law was passed in 2021—and Northern Ireland.
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The Crime and Policing Bill was introduced in the House of Commons in February 2025. If passed into law, it will create a new specific offence of assault on retail workers at work. As of July 2025, the bill is progressing through the House of Lords.
For this reason, we are rating this pledge as “appears on track”.
The bill specifies that the new offence will carry a maximum penalty of six months or an unlimited fine, and places a presumption on the courts to impose a criminal behaviour order (CBO) on defendants upon first conviction.
The definition of “retail worker” includes volunteers and people who are “working there for or on behalf of the owner or occupier” of the premises, while the offence applies not only to staff in shops but also retail stalls and vehicles.
As we develop this Government Tracker we’re keen to hear your feedback. We’ll be keeping the Tracker up to date and adding more pledges in the coming months.
Progress displayed publicly—so every single person in this country can judge our performance on actions, not words.
Sir Keir Starmer, Prime Minister – 24 September 2024