Following a recent decision in the Supreme Court, retailers are being warned about the repercussions if a member of staff were to attack a customer.
Legal experts are urging retailers to take note after the Supreme Court overturned the Court of Appeal's decision in Mohamud v Wm Morrison Supermarkets. It decided that Morrisons was vicariously liable when one of its petrol station attendants carried out a serious assault on a customer at a petrol pump.

Commenting on the case, Christina Tolvas-Vincent of law firm Bond Dickinson LLP said: "Previously, employers in a similar case would be able to argue that the employee was 'on a frolic of his own', meaning that they were not liable for a rogue employee's actions.

"This decision means that retailers are more likely to be held liable for such assaults in the future and may face an increase in claims from customers.

"It's obviously hard to predict such incidents but it's important that employers are aware of their potential liability and ensure that staff are properly supervised. While employers don't need to make changes to employment contracts, they can give themselves further protection by ensuring staff are given training and are clear what to do if they encounter a difficult customer."

She said her firm would also recommend that retailers investigate a job applicant's background and take up references before employing them, in order to try to reduce the risks of such an event occurring. All these efforts could potentially act in mitigation should an incident occur and go to court.

"Employers should also have a close look at their insurance policies to see whether these sorts of deliberate acts are excluded from the scope of their public liability insurance," Ms Tolvas-Vincent added. "Many policies may exclude deliberate acts, and hence, there could well be an issue."