Co-op Staff Face Lone Working Dangers

Profit Over People? Co-op Staff Face Danger Alone Amid Crime Wave

Co-op employees say the supermarket is placing their safety in jeopardy through widespread understaffing. Workers across the country state the company leaves them to manage stores single-handedly, even as an escalation in retail crime creates an increasingly hostile environment. Staff members have leveled serious accusations, stating that the company’s focus on efficiency exposes them to threats and violence. Many now fear for their well-being while on duty. This situation arises from a stark conflict: the Co-op's public campaign against shoplifting clashes with its internal policies that, according to staff, strip stores of the necessary human presence to deter criminals, creating a climate of fear within the store.

Voices from the Frontline

The daily experience for many Co-op personnel involves a precarious balancing act. In smaller stores, it is becoming common for a single employee to juggle packing online orders, supervising self-service checkouts, and managing tills simultaneously. Staff in more substantial branches describe being in the same isolated position during a coworker's rest period or when a colleague attends to a delivery. This practice exposes them to significant risk. One worker recounted feeling "very unsafe" even in a two-person team, explaining the fear that sets in when their colleague’s break leaves them completely unaccompanied in the main sales area.

A Climate of Fear

The emotional toll of these conditions is severe. A grandmother employed at a south London Co-op branch detailed harrowing encounters. She communicated to the advocacy organization Organise that she has been threatened by shoplifters. She recounted a disgusting incident where a woman threatened to smash her face in and spoke of witnessing male shoplifters brandishing box cutters and screwdrivers as tools for intimidating colleagues. This constant threat of violence creates a palpable atmosphere of fear, fundamentally changing the nature of a public-facing job into a source of anxiety and dread.

The National Crime Epidemic

This alarming situation at the Co-op is unfolding against the backdrop of a nationwide surge in retail crime. According to one industry crime report for 2025, aggressive and abusive incidents against retail staff soared to approximately 737,000 in the 2023–24 period. This figure represents an average of over 2,000 incidents every single day. The problem is particularly acute in smaller outlets, with trade associations estimating 59,000 violent incidents and 1.2 million instances of verbal abuse in the convenience sector alone.

Shoplifting Reaches Record Highs

Theft has also escalated dramatically, reaching what some call its highest level on record. Police recorded nearly 517,000 shop theft offences by the end of December 2024, a 20% year-on-year increase and the highest number since new counting rules began in 2002/03. The total cost to retailers from customer theft hit a staggering £2.2 billion in 2023/24, a significant rise from the previous year's £1.8 billion. Much of this is attributed to organised crime gangs who systematically target multiple stores.

Project Lunar: Efficiency or Endangerment?

Fears among personnel at the Co-op have intensified with the rollout of a new initiative called Project Lunar. This plan, trialled at an initial five sites during the previous year and now expanding to 60 branches, formalises lone working by having a single employee present during less busy periods. The company's internal messaging describes the project as a way to "safeguard the future of affected stores by supporting profitable trading". It involves reviewing product ranges to cut waste and simplifying tasks so that a manager or team leader can work alone during slower daylight hours.

The "One-on-One" Reality

Project Lunar is an extension of the "one-on-one" operational model already present in many Co-op stores. This system involves one employee working on public-facing responsibilities like operating the checkout, while another is occupied in the stockroom or with other tasks in non-customer areas. At any given moment, this can leave a single worker to face the public alone. The Co-op has not confirmed how many of its outlets currently operate with this model, but staff are clear about its consequences.

The Human Cost of Austerity Staffing

The psychological impact of these staffing policies is profound. A survey conducted by the advocacy organization Organise found that over 80% of the Co-op's workforce felt unsafe at their job specifically because of insufficient staffing. This corroborates wider industry findings; a 2024 survey from Theatro revealed that 80% of retail workers feel scared when they clock in for their shifts. The constant threat of verbal abuse and physical violence takes a heavy toll, leading to what experts describe as long-term psychological trauma, including anxiety, depression, and even PTSD.

Understaffing and Helplessness

A critical link exists between understaffing and the inability to respond to threats. Theatro's survey showed that an alarming 72% of retail employees have experienced incidents where staff could not react to a security situation because the store was understaffed. This feeling of helplessness is a major source of stress. Another study highlighted that 62% of workers feel ill-equipped to handle difficult situations, compounding their sense of vulnerability. The lack of visible staff is also a strategic weakness that criminals exploit. As one Co-op employee noted, known shoplifters often look inside a store to gauge the number of employees present before deciding whether to strike.

Shoppers Witness the Strain

The pressure on staff is not going unnoticed by customers. A petition with more than three thousand customer signatures, organized by the group Organise, urges the Co-op to abandon its lone-working policies. Customers report seeing employees having difficulty managing multiple duties, from manning the tills to stacking shelves, all while being the sole staff member present. One shopper told Organise that the working conditions at their neighborhood Co-op are visibly not good, citing numerous occasions where a single employee was left to run the entire shop floor. This erosion of service and safety impacts the entire community.

Image Credit - Retail Sector

A Profitable Enterprise

The staffing policies at the Co-op are set against a backdrop of strong financial performance. In April 2025, the company reported a significant increase in its core operating profit, which rose by £34 million to £131 million for the 2024 financial year. Total revenue held steady at £11.3 billion, and profit before tax soared by £133 million to reach £161 million. These figures have fuelled accusations from campaigners that the company is prioritising its bottom line over the safety of its staff and customers.

The Campaign for Change

The advocacy organization Organise has been a leading voice in challenging the Co-op's policies. Honor Barber, who is a campaigner with the group, argues that while the company reports healthy profits, its employees are pushed to their absolute limits. The group’s central demand is clear and simple: the implementation of minimum staffing levels for every store. Barber states that workers know what is required for their security, and it is not the technological solutions the company is investing in, but rather the physical presence of more colleagues.

Compounded by Cyber-Attack

The strain on Co-op staff was recently exacerbated by a major cyber-attack. This incident crippled IT systems, leaving many stores with stock shortages and forcing employees to revert to manual processes. According to campaigners, this technological failure made a bad situation worse. Staff were still required to work in one-on-one scenarios or with inadequate team levels, all while dealing with the extra workload and stress from the system outage. This heightened their vulnerability to abuse and violence at a time when operational pressures were already immense.

Technology as a Solution?

In response to safety concerns, the Co-op highlights its investment in technology, including updated communication devices and different kinds of artificial intelligence monitoring. The retail sector is increasingly turning to AI-powered video analytics to detect suspicious behaviour, monitor stock levels, and even optimise staffing. These systems can identify potential threats in real time, analyse customer traffic to predict peak hours, and help reduce theft. However, campaigners and staff argue these are not a substitute for human presence. While AI can monitor and report, it cannot physically intervene or provide the deterrent effect of another person in the retail area.

The Company's Defence

A spokesperson for the Co-op has defended the company’s position, stating its commitment to providing a "fulfilling and protected workplace." The company emphasizes its role as a leading voice in pushing for a stronger response to retail criminal activity and highlights its significant investment in security. The Co-op states it has spent £240 million for safety protocols during the preceding five-year period, a figure it claims is a figure fourfold the industry-wide standard for each branch. This investment includes CCTV, security personnel, and anti-theft devices.

Policy Versus Practice

The Co-op also argues that its lone-working policies are limited. The company claims that over 90% of total staff hours are not worked "one-on-one" and that its Project Lunar locations are structured so that employees are not alone during busy periods like opening, closing, or when receiving deliveries. Nevertheless, certain personnel directly contradict this, saying the demanding nature of the workload on shifts often results in them being unaccompanied at these exact times in practice. This discrepancy between official policy and on-the-ground reality lies at the heart of the staff's grievances.

The Union Perspective

The shop workers' union, Usdaw, has been campaigning on this issue for years through its "Freedom From Fear" initiative. The campaign aims to prevent violence, threats, and abuse against retail workers and challenges the dangerous notion that such experiences are simply "part of the job." Usdaw's 2025 survey data reveals a grim picture: 77% of retail workers reported being verbally abused in the past year, 53% received threats of violence, and 10% were physically assaulted. The union has worked with employers and politicians to advocate for stronger protections.

Government Takes Action

After years of campaigning by unions and retailers, the government has begun to respond. The new Crime and Policing Bill introduces a standalone offence for assaulting a retail worker, which carries a maximum penalty of six months in prison and the potential for a Criminal Behaviour Order (CBO) to ban offenders from specific stores. This move is intended to send a clear message that violence against shop staff will not be tolerated. The BRC and other groups have welcomed this as an urgently needed step to protect workers.

Scrapping the "Shoplifters' Charter"

The government has also moved to scrap the controversial £200 threshold for shoplifting. This rule, introduced in 2014, reclassified theft of goods under £200 as a less serious, summary-only offence, creating a perception that low-value shoplifting was unlikely to be pursued. Critics called it a "shoplifters' charter" that emboldened criminals. By repealing this, the government intends to ensure all theft is treated with appropriate seriousness, carrying a potential sentence of up to seven years.

The Road Ahead

While legislative changes are a welcome step, frontline staff and their advocates insist they are not a complete solution. The core issue of understaffing remains. As long as employees must operate without backup, they remain exposed and vulnerable, regardless of the penalties an attacker might face after the fact. The ongoing conflict at the Co-op highlights a fundamental debate in modern retail: where to draw the line between operational efficiency and the fundamental duty of care owed to employees who serve on the industry's front line.