Peoplesafe urge action to tackle the rising tide of violence, abuse and harassment against frontline workers

Change is urgently needed. Workers responding to our survey have called for stronger preventative measures, including specialist training, robust reporting systems, and visible safety provisions, alongside tougher penalties for perpetrators. We remain concerned that despite the Worker Protection Act mandating employers take reasonable steps to address sexual harassment in the workplace, many employers have still not implemented these steps a year after the Act came into force. It is also imperative that the government strengthen legal frameworks to prevent all forms of gender-based violence in the workplace and close existing loopholes to ensure every worker can feel safe at work.

Change is urgently needed. Workers responding to our survey have called for stronger preventative measures, including specialist training, robust reporting systems, and visible safety provisions, alongside tougher penalties for perpetrators. We remain concerned that despite the Worker Protection Act mandating employers take reasonable steps to address sexual harassment in the workplace, many employers have still not implemented these steps a year after the Act came into force. It is also imperative that the government strengthen legal frameworks to prevent all forms of gender-based violence in the workplace and close existing loopholes to ensure every worker can feel safe at work.

Key Findings:

The Suzy Lamplugh Trust is urging government and employers to take decisive action, including:

Suky Bhaker, CEO of Suzy Lamplugh Trust, said, "Every statistic in this report represents a person who has experienced violence or abuse or felt unsafe, unsupported, and unheard at work. The scale of violence against frontline staff is both shocking and unacceptable. Workplace violence is not inevitable and must be prevented. Our research shows what needs to change: stronger laws, better training, and a shift from a culture of tolerance to one of accountability. The time for half measures is over. We need a coordinated national effort to ensure that every worker, in every sector, can go to work knowing they will return home safely."

Naz Dossa, Peoplesafe CEO, said, "Organisations are failing their people. Protecting employees must be a board-level priority for every organisation, and as leaders, we have a duty to ensure our people are protected. We're proud to be using our technology to support leading organisations like Tesco, Guys and St Thomas' and many others in the great work they're doing to keep their people safe. We stand with the Suzy Lamplugh Trust to call on more to do more."

Baroness Smith of Llanfaes, said, "These survey results are truly shocking. These stark figures show that the UK's legal framework is severely deficient and that it is clearly failing to protect workers from violence in the workplace. No worker should feel at risk of violence at work. The UK Government must and can act now."

Richard Spinks, father of Gracie Spinks, said, "No parent should have to endure what our family has gone through. Gracie trusted the people she worked with, and her employer had a duty to protect her from harm. When clear risks are ignored or safety systems fail, accountability cannot stop at the individual. It must extend to the organisations that allow those failures to happen. Employers must take responsibility, not just after the fact but every single day, to prevent harmful behaviours and make sure workplaces are safe."

Methodology

All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 1003 adults across 4 sectors- Retail, Hospitality, Healthcare and Transport. Fieldwork was undertaken between 5th - 10th September 2025. The survey was carried out online.

¹ All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc.
² 31% was calculated by the Suzy Lamplugh Trust using YouGov figures. We multiplied the number of respondents who were taken to follow up questions about the incident they had experienced by 100 and then divided it by the total number of respondents.
³ Ibid.
⁴ 35% was calculated by the Suzy Lamplugh Trust using YouGov figures. We multiplied the number of respondents working in the healthcare sector who were taken to follow up questions about the incident they had experienced by 100 and then divided it by the total number of healthcare respondents.

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2768747/5597849/PeopleSafe_Logo.jpg

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/peoplesafe-urge-action-to-tackle-the-rising-tide-of-violence-abuse-and-harassment-against-frontline-workers-302602866.html