A multipack of vitamin pills hurtled through the air of the pharmacy chain, just missing Jane*, a pharmacist from the Midlands. But because of her role, Jane felt unable to just walk away from the angry individual who threw it after being caught shoplifting. “You’re trying to do what you can to get them what they need,” says the 36-year-old. “Because ultimately, that’s your job.”
What Jane had experienced was third-party workplace harassment; she was not being threatened or abused by a colleague or a boss, but by a customer she was obliged to come into contact with as a necessary part of her work. There is currently no law to require employers to protect their staff from clients, customers or service users who experience this kind of harassment.
