A new amendment has been tabled to the Crime and Policing Bill would would create a special offence of assault on a delivery drivers.
The an amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill is tabled by Anneliese Midgley MP (Labour, Knowsley) which would extend the offence of assaulting a retail worker to home delivery drivers as well.
New Clause 48 is expected to be considered during the remaining House of Commons stages of the Bill, timetabled for this week on Tuesday (June 17) and Wednesday (June 18).
According to the proposed amendment, the delivery person is a person who:
- is logged into a delivery app,
- is travelling to a location to collect goods for delivery,
- is at a location waiting for, or taking possession of, goods for delivery,
- is travelling to deliver those goods to another location,
- is delivering those goods to another location,
- is within an hour of having delivered those goods to another location,
- or has commenced travel to another location.
Retail worker union Usdaw has welcomed the amendment with its general secretary Paddy Lillis saying that it is the right move.
Lillis said, “We welcome the amendment tabled by Anneliese Midgley MP, which complements the Government’s determination to tighten up the regulation of the online sale of knives."
"Usdaw fully supports this much-needed legislation, particularly after the horrors of the Southport murders, and knowing that the weapons used in this atrocity were ordered online, it is absolutely crucial that more is done to safeguard against underage sales.
“Important in tightening up the process is the role of the delivery driver, who is legally required to conduct a final age verification on the customer’s doorstep.
"These checks also apply to all age-restricted products, including alcohol and tobacco. Our members tell us this can be very problematic and they feel vulnerable to attack.
“The Crime and Policing Bill includes a much-needed protection of retail workers’ law which we believe should apply to all retail staff.
"When Parliament places additional responsibilities on delivery workers to police much-needed laws on age verification, it is only right that Parliament legislates to provide additional protections for delivery workers.”
Usdaw recently surveyed over 300 retail home delivery drivers working mainly in the grocery sector and employed by a range of companies including Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Ocado, Asda, Morrisons and Iceland.
The results show that in the last twelve months:
- 77 per cent had been a victim of abuse.
- 13 per cent were assaulted.
- 26 per cent had refused a delivery due to fear for their own personal safety.
Retail home delivery drivers are required to obtain proof of age for a number of products which are subject to age-related sales legislation. If they fail to obtain it, they may be liable for prosecution – resulting in a heavy fine and/or disciplinary action from the employer.
The Crime and Policing Bill also introduces a new legal requirement on drivers to verify a customer’s age when delivering knives ordered online.
