The government has proposed an amendment to the current Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill which will deem assaults against people providing services to the public as an aggravating factor.

The British Retail Consortium (BRC), which represents 170 major UK retailers, has welcomed the proposal, which would mean tougher sentences for people who commit violent offences against retail workers.

“By tabling this amendment, government has signalled that it understands the seriousness of the issue facing retail workers, 455 of whom are abused or attacked every day at work,” said Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the BRC. “If the police prosecute all reported violent incidents as aggravated offences and the courts sentence those convicted accordingly, retail workers will feel better protected, would-be offenders may be deterred, and we will begin to see the true scale of the problem faced by our hardworking colleagues.”

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