The Retailer Autumn Edition 2022

THE RE TA I L ER

1 4

IT’S TIME FOR RETAILERS TO WORK TOGETHER TO TACKLE DOMESTIC ABUSE

Chris Brook-Carter Chief Executive Retail Trust

A midst a troubling rise in domestic abuse cases, what role should retail ers play to help staff in abu sive relationships? When former bank clerk Fiona Bowmanwas left badly injured by her husband, nurses called her manager Graham to the hospital. And he was left stunned by what he found. “I didn’t have an inkling what Fiona was going through,” he said. “Butwhen I sawher in hospital, her injuries were so bad she was unrecognisa ble. She eventually admitted she was suffering domestic abuse and seemed relieved to talk to someone she knew she could trust. I knew I had to help.” Years of domestic abuse had left Fiona feeling ashamed and she had gone to pains to hide her suffering from friends, family and colleagues. “You’ll tell people everything’s finewhen it’s not,” she said, “and even though they might know you’re not really OK, they often don’t have the courage to ask more questions.” Thanks to Graham’s help and the support of their employer’s HR team, Fiona was finally able to escape her violent marriage when she was transferred to another branch of the bank, 400 miles away. “Having the support of my employers as I rebuilt my life meant the world to me,” she later said. We believe that by working together as an industry, retail has a real power to make a change.” ‘‘

Howmany employers see protecting against domestic abuse as their responsibility? A quarter of women and one in six men will be affected by domestic abuse in their lifetimes, according to the World Health Organization. And with one woman a week and one man a month losing their lives as a result, Fiona’s story highlights the critical role that employers can play in helping victims. Yet, howmany businesses actually see it as their responsibility to deal with something that may havevery little to dowith an employee’sworking life? And howmany other colleagues might be suffering in silence as a result? In Fiona’s case, the support she received fromher employer not only helped to save and rebuild her life but gave her the confidence to reach out for help in a way she felt unable to with friends and family. And this comes amidst a troubling rise in inci dents, with the police and domestic abuse helplines reporting soaring rates of calls during the pandemic and cases due to spike once again this winter due to frictions caused by the cost of-living crisis, theWorld Cup and the Christmas period. And at the Retail Trust, we are now providing more counselling services for retail workers in abusive relationships than ever before. Certainly, one of the long-term, positive con sequences of the pandemic was a much better focus onwellbeing at work, with the companies that are now coming out stronger being those with a real desire to put their people first and have more meaningful conversations about mental health. But we believe employers don’t just have a responsibility to look out for their employees’ wellbeingwhile they’re at work. Being support ive extends to offering help when colleagues are going through a difficult time at home, too. And from a step as simple as displaying help line numbers in staffrooms, to arranging an employee’s transfer to another branch, we in the industry can all do something to help retail workers facing domestic abuse.

Beyond simply being the right thing to do, with record numbers of job vacancies and our own research showing that a fifth of retail workers want to leave their jobs, retailers need to look at everything they can do to keep theirworkforce engaged and supported. This will be a real focus of the Retail Trust’s next Leaders’ Summit in January, where we will be bringing together retail leaders from across the sector to discuss the big issues that are impacting their employees’ wellbeing right now. The Retail Industry Against Domestic Abuse We’re holding this event because we believe that byworking together as an industry, with a coalition of people, leaders, brands and organ isations who are united in creating a healthy, happy and thriving workforce, retail has a real power to make a change. And that’swhy, in 2021, we launched the Retail Industry Against Domestic Abuse campaign in partnership with the Domestic Abuse Alliance and Dunelm to bring more help to domestic abuse victims working in retail. “The home should be a place where you feel comfortable and safe, but we know this isn’t always the case,” JosieDickinson, inclusion, diver sity and wellbeing senior manager at Dunelm told us. “As part of RIADA, we feel a real sense of responsibility to educate and support our colleagues.” And since launching the campaign last year, 30 other household name retailers like IKEA and B&Q have joined us to support their staff. But whether you join us too, or are only begin ning to look into the support you offer your staff facing domestic abuse, here’s three important steps you can take.