Supermarket staff are facing increasing ‘mask rage’ abuse

SUPERMARKET workers are facing a worrying rise in “mask rage” with the Co-op reporting that staff had suffered historic levels of abuse since the new regulations were enacted.

The retailer said it had recorded 990 incidents of anti-social behaviour and verbal abuse between July 20 and July 26 – two days after masks were made compulsory in shops.

Almost all confrontations were related to the wearing of face masks with “flashpoints” occurring when people were asked to follow the guidance or young consumers were asked to remove masks to check ID when buying alcohol.

A Co-op spokesman told The Grocer magazine: “We’ve seen a marked rise in abuse, threats and even assaults on shop workers during the Covid crisis and believe this could be another flashpoint. That’s why we continue to campaign for greater protection, with a new offence which dishes out stiffer sentences to those guilty of harming shop workers.”

July 24 marked the first day that people in England were legally obliged to wear a face covering in shops, shopping centres, banks, takeaway outlets, post offices, sandwich shops and supermarkets.

There has been a mixed response to the rules among retailers, with some employing Covid-19 compliance officers and turning customers away from branches if they do not have face coverings. However others, such as Sainsbury’s and Asda, have said publicly they will not be challenging customers without masks, and the police have stated they would only enforce the rules and £100 fines as a “last resort”.

The regulations also do not require shop workers to wear masks, which has led to ill-feeling among some customers. Last week the British Medical Association said shop staff should also be wearing face coverings.

According to an Ipsos Mori and King’s College poll this week, one in eight people has been confronted or reported for not wearing a mask, the equivalent of around six million Britons.

Before the mask rules were brought in, unions warned that supermarket staff would face the brunt of public anger because rules were not clear.