One in five delivery drivers fear they might be attacked at work

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Calls for delivery drivers to get more protection doing their rounds have been raised as figures show one in five fear they might be attacked.

Mark Lang, an Evri delivery driver, was murdered last year when a thief stole his van and ran him over with it while he was delivering a parcel in Wales.

Delivery drivers fear

Now his daughters, Cara and Elena are calling for more to be done. Cara said:

“You don’t expect that your dad would go to work to deliver parcels and he’s not coming home. He loved his work and loved the people included in his work, he loved the people he’d met.”

“He even used to carry treats in his pockets for the dogs,” Elena added.

According to the BBC, it is thought one in five home delivery drivers has been attacked or threatened by the public in some way.

Figures show that at Christmas last year, 86% of Amazon drivers said “job demands put them or others at risk of harm,” because of the conditions of the pressures and conditions of the role.

But it seems these attacks are happening across the country. In February this year, another driver was pulled from his van and attacked in Derbyshire. Meanwhile, in Edinburgh, the issue has become so widespread that drivers have labelled ‘danger zones’ to avoid these attacks.

Mark Lang’s daughters told BBC Breakfast that although he loved his work, it was stressful.

“He worked a lot, he put a lot of hours into it, and he talked about how he was always busy. How he was literally on the go all day.

“Every delivery driver has a family and I just think at the end of the day people say your job is a job, it’s not worth losing your life over,” they said.

Richard Jackson, Unite Union said:

“There is a relentless amount of pressure to keep delivering, delivering, delivering and the more they do, the more they’re expected to do. What we don’t want to see is a continuance of employers perhaps putting profits before people.

“When you look what happened to Mark Lang, he paid the ultimate price just for being a delivery driver.”

Mark Lang’s daughters also want changes including better changes and fewer parcels to deliver in one shift. Elena said:

“You see delivery drivers and they just quickly pop out and they are only out of their van for about two seconds but now if I do see anybody just leaving their key in the ignition I get a little bit of anxiety. You only need somebody watching and it takes seconds.”

The BBC Breakfast report raised concerns about how much training delivery drivers get as well as what happens if a driver is robbed of a parcel.

One driver e-mailed in to say he got two days of training when he started the job with a delivery firm, where he was told that if he was robbed while out and about, to let the item go, but he may be personally charged for the missing item. As a result, he moved to another company but claims he got no safety training there.

The increase in attacks on delivery drivers comes after reports show that the number of violent attacks on retail workers rose to 1,300 a day last year, up from 870 a day the year before.

CICA claims

If you have been a victim of a crime of violence, you may be entitled to claim compensation from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA).

What is a crime of violence?

The CICA defines a ‘Crime of Violence’ as a crime which, by intention or recklessness, involves any of the following:

A physical attack
Any other act (or failure to act) of a violent nature which causes physical injury to a person
A threat against a person causing fear of immediate violence
Sexual assault
Arson

What is the CICA?

Since 1964, the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) and its predecessor (Criminal Injuries Compensation Board), has paid over £3 billion in compensation.

In 1996, a statutory scheme was introduced under the provisions of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Act 1995. Designed to compensate blameless victims of violent crimes including physical and sexual assaults, the CICA has been revised in 2001, 2008 and 2012, compensating for over 300 different injuries ranging in compensation between £1,000 – £250,000.

Individuals may be eligible for an award if they sustain a criminal injury directly attributable to being a direct victim of a crime of violence committed in a relevant place.

How much compensation will I get?

Compensation is awarded based on the severity of the injuries. Common awards include:

A fractured jaw bone resulting in ongoing problems. This would be valued at £3,500 and could rise to £6,200 if an operation had taken place.
Facial scarring causing serious disfigurement. This could be valued up to £11,000.
Injuries resulting in permanent tinnitus which is very severe can be valued at £16,500.
Loss of teeth could be valued up to £3,500.

A permanent and seriously disabling psychological injury, with a potential value of up to £27,000.

For more information on CICA claims, click here.