Nearly two-thirds of young women say they have endured bullying, sexual harassment or verbal abuse in the workplace, according to damning new research.
Around three in five of those polled (58 per cent) reported experiencing such mistreatment at work, rising to 62 per cent among women aged between 25 and 34.
The TUC said its survey of 1,000 women found most victims don’t report incidents because they fear they won’t be believed or it could damage their career.
The research comes as the TUC accused Tory Lords of attempting to “sabotage” necessary new laws which would implement a preventative duty on employers to address harassment and abuse at work and safeguard workers from mistreatment by third parties such as clients or customers.
Recent reports in the Financial Times suggest ministers will allow The Worker Protection Bill to fail even though they formerly pledged to back the legislation.
Bec Shale, who works for Poundland, told The Independent a customer had sexually assaulted her while she was stacking shelves - explaining some customers think they can touch her in the same way they handle products for sale.
Ms Shale, who lives in the East Midlands, recounted a situation where a customer sexually assaulted her around seven years, saying she had been stacking shelves when she “suddenly felt someone grab my breasts from behind”.
The now 45-year-old added: “I froze as he slowly ran his hands down my body. I turned around and saw it was a regular customer who I had spoken to before.”
She explained she was left “pretty shaken” and informed her supervisor what had happened - adding that she ended up reporting the incident to the police after getting advice to do so from her manager.
In the end, the man was placed on the sex offenders register for three years, pleading guilty to the offence, she added. Since the incident she is more wary of customers and is “more jumpy”, Ms Shale explained.
“Customers will put their arms around you, and sometimes even put their arms around your waist,” she said. “Some people have the attitude of ‘you are here to serve me, I’m going to treat you how I want’.
“This sometimes leads people to think they can touch you like they would touch the products.”
The polling found more than three in five women saying they have endured three or more bullying incidents in the workplace, while two in five women have suffered at least three incidents of sexual harassment.
Researchers also found in two out of five of the most recent incidents, the person who had carried out the sexual harassment, bullying or verbal abuse was a third party and not a colleague.
Less than three in ten women who say they endured sexual harassment at work informed their employer, while just two in five women being bullied and half grappling with verbal abuse report the misconduct.
Paul Nowak, general secretary of the TUC, said: “Ministers promised to bring in long overdue new laws to prevent workplace sexual harassment and tackle abuse from third parties like customers and clients.
“But they are now backsliding under pressure from their own backbenchers who are trying to delay and derail these vital new protections.”
Mr Nowak warned it would “be a disgrace” if ministers permit the legislation “to fall” as he called for the government to “urgently ensure this bill passes in full” or risk betraying “working women right across the country.”
A spokesperson for the Government’s Equality Hub said: “There is no place for harassment of any kind. The Worker Protection Bill seeks to strengthen protections against harassment in the workplace.
“We are aware of concerns raised by some parliamentarians about the balance the Bill strikes between protecting free speech and tackling harassment. We have made amendments to the Bill to address these concerns but will study closely any amendments in Parliament.”
