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COVID-19 UPDATE
ABUSE ‘HAS GOT WORSE’ DURING PANDEMIC
A NEW SURVEY OF OVER 2,000 RETAIL WORKERS HAS FOUND THATTHREE-QUARTERS SAY ABUSE HAS GOT WORSE DURING THEPANDEMIC.
Retail trade union Usdaw unveiled the shocking results of a new survey on Monday to mark the launch of Respect for Shopworkers Week.
Interim results from over 2,000 retail staff across the UK show that so far this year:
76% say abuse has been worse than normal during the Covid-19 pandemic,
85% of shopworkers have experienced verbal abuse,
57% were threatened by a customer,
9% were assaulted.
Paddy Lillis (pictured), Usdaw General Secretary, commented: “Yet another Usdaw survey shows that some people have responded to this appalling pandemic by abusing shopworkers. At a time when we should all be working together to get through this national crisis, it is a disgrace that staff working to keep food on the shelves are being abused.”
FAMILY CHRISTMAS GET-TOGETHERS ‘UNDER CONSIDERATION’
GOVERNMENT MINISTERS ARE REPORTEDLY EXAMINING HOWCORONAVIRUS RESTRICTIONS COULD BE RELAXED TO ALLOWFAMILIES TO CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS TOGETHER.
Government Ministers are looking at how coronavirus restrictions could be eased over Christmas to allow families to spend part of the festive period together.
Susan Hopkins, the government’s medical adviser on coronavirus, said Ministers were working on a plan to allow Christmas to be “as close to normal as possible”. If the rules are relaxed, it is likely to be for a very short period, possibly only a few days.
All four UK nations – England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland – are trying to work out a common approach to Christmas so families spread across the UK can still meet up.
The advice was likely to urge families not to hold big gatherings and to travel by car, rather than public transport.
SCOTLAND SLIDES FURTHER INTO LOCKDOWN
A total of 11 areas in west and central Scotland will be placed in the highest level of the country’s five-tier system of coronavirus restrictions from 6pm on Friday.
The restrictions will remain in place until at least 11 December and will affect some 23 million people.
The new measures include the closure of non-essential shops, pubs, restaurants and gyms.
East and South Ayrshire, East and West Dunbartonshire, East Renfrewshire, Glasgow, North and South Lanarkshire, Renfrewshire, Stirling, and West Lothian are affected.
STUDENT TESTING PROGRAMME UNVEILED
Thousands of students in Scotland will be tested for coronavirus under plans to allow those wishing to return home at the end of term to do so safely. Further and Higher Education Minister Richard Lochhead outlined the measures being taken by colleges and universities to support the safe return of up to 80,000 students ahead of the winter break.
The plans include a widespread Covid-19 testing scheme, which is expected to be rolled out by the start of December.
Enabling easy access to testing for students with Covid-19 symptoms has already proved to be effective in controlling outbreaks. Now Scottish students will be included in a UK-wide initiative to test some asymptomatic students prior to the end of term.
TESCO’S BIZARRE CHALLENGE GOES VIRAL
Tesco’s social media team has come up trumps with a highly creative but very simply campaign that has gone viral on Twitter. The supermarket issued a frankly bizarre challenge to followers: quote Tesco’s Tweet and succeed in getting zero likes, retweets or comments and win a free Tesco Meal Deal.
As The Week In Retail went to (digital) press, the campaign had received over 123,000 retweets – but so far it looks like no-one has actually managed to get zero likes, retweets or comments.
Just goes to show that sometimes it’s the simplest strategy that works best.
BUDGET DATE SET
The Scottish Government hasannounced that its budget willbe published on 28 January2021. Finance SecretaryKate Forbes revealed thedate last week following theUK Government’s decision topostpone its Autumn Budgetuntil an unspecified date in thenew year. Forbes said the UKgovernment’s decision wouldcause “significant difficulties”.
HMRC ON HUNT
Companies that made claimsunder the Coronavirus JobRetention Scheme but didn’tkeep proper records will be thefirst to be investigated, saysBlick Rothenberg. HMRC isinvestigating widespread fraudand is looking into thousandsof claims.
CLEAN GIVEAWAY
JJ Foodservice is givingfamilies that need help withthe cleaning free bundles ofanti-bacterial spray, washingup liquid and laundry products.The giveaway is taking placeon JJ’s Facebook and Twitterpages in partnership withDCS Group, which looks aftermany of the leading householdcleaning brands.
