The UK’s banking industry is urging the government to extend new legal protections for retail workers to branch staff in banks and building societies, warning that they face similar risks of abuse, violence, and intimidation.
A proposed new standalone offence for assaulting retail workers is being introduced under the government’s crime and policing bill, currently progressing through Parliament. The measure — first promised by the previous Conservative administration and now adopted by Labour — would make it a specific criminal offence to assault retail workers, with offenders facing up to six months in prison and/or an unlimited fine.
However, UK Finance, the trade body representing the banking sector, has said the bill excludes bank and building society staff, despite a reported 10,503 incidents of abuse in branches last year.
“This exclusion unfairly discriminates against branch staff,” UK Finance said in its submission to Parliament. “Like other customer-facing workers, they deserve to feel safe at work. Assaults on bank staff should carry the same consequences.”
Bank branches, it argued, play a unique role on the high street, often dealing with emotionally charged situations tied to people’s personal finances, security, and aspirations.
UK Finance also pointed to increased protest activity targeting bank branches over environmental and geopolitical issues.
Several Barclays branches were vandalised last year by pro-Palestinian activists alleging ties to companies supplying weapons to Israel. Protesters disrupted the bank’s AGM earlier this month waving Palestinian flags.
HSBC and Standard Chartered have also seen their UK headquarters targeted by climate activists over fossil fuel financing, raising concerns about the safety of staff and customers during demonstrations.
“Protests against banks who lend to defence companies are regularly large and violent,” UK Finance said. “Innocent branch staff or members of the public are being put at real risk of harm.”
While common assault is already an offence under UK law, the retail sector successfully lobbied for a dedicated charge, citing rising incidents of violence and abuse.
The government under Rishi Sunak initially resisted, but reversed its position before the last election. Although that legislation was dropped during the dissolution of Parliament, the new Labour government has revived the proposal with a standalone offence focused on retail workers.
A Home Office spokesperson said: “Nobody should be attacked whilst at work and this government is taking robust action to tackle shop theft and protect retail workers.”
But for banking staff, the lack of inclusion in the proposed offence leaves them legally exposed, despite dealing with similar — and often more volatile — public-facing scenarios.
UK Finance is now calling for amendments to the bill to ensure branch staff receive the same legal protections as their retail counterparts.
As workplace violence and protest-related threats rise across the financial sector, industry leaders argue that all public-facing employees deserve equal protection under the law — regardless of whether they sell groceries or handle personal savings.
