Grocery industry charity GroceryAid has launched a new service to provide professional counselling support to retail colleagues in the aftermath of an accident, robbery or assault in the workplace.

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Workplace Critical Incident Support, which is funded by the Leverhulme Trade Charities Trust, was launched at a special reception at the Houses of Parliament earlier today (Wednesday). Under the programme, GroceryAid is partnering with CiC - specialists in workplace counselling - to provide professional counsellors who will visit affected sites to run either group or 1-2-1 sessions, providing practical advice and tools to help individuals manage their feelings and emotions.

GroceryAid chief executive Steve Barnes commented: “Sadly, there are incidents and accidents in grocery workplaces and we are delighted to introduce a service that can be there to support colleagues affected by these.

“Right now in particular, we are acutely aware of rising numbers of attacks on independent retail colleagues, and these attacks can have lasting effects. As the charity for the entire grocery sector, we are pleased to expand our support offering to be there for colleagues and companies dealing with the aftermath of trauma.”

Steve Williams from the Leverhulme Trade Charities Trust added: “We are delighted to fund the introduction of GroceryAid’s Workplace Critical Incident Support. The charity plays a crucial role within the grocery industry, supporting colleagues when they need it most. This new service will help individuals deal with the emotional aftermath of traumatic events.”

Lord Price CVO, life patron of GroceryAid, sponsored the event, which was also supported by the Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) and the Federation of Wholesale Distributors (FWD).

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