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Representatives of vulnerable retail-sector workers have called on the new Justice Secretary to step in to prevent changes to a government compensation scheme that would see victims of violent crime lose out.

Shopworkers’ union Usdaw has written to Chris Grayling MP – the former health and safety minister – to stop cuts to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme (CICS), which would mean nearly half of all those currently eligible for compensation would receive nothing, and more than a third would see their compensation severely reduced.

An adjournment debate on the cuts to the CICS is due to take place in the House of Commons today (7 September), and they are to be considered by the Delegated Legislation Committee on Monday evening (10 September). The revised scheme is due to come into force from 30 September.

In an eleventh-hour letter to Mr Grayling – who was named as Justice Secretary in the Cabinet reshuffle earlier this week – Usdaw’s general secretary, John Hannett, wrote: “These cuts will have a profound effect on the innocent victims of serious crime who have no other means to obtain compensation. Many injured victims of crime, especially those in manual occupations, suffer financially as they cannot work while injured.

“Many victims say that the Scheme also helps them recover emotionally from their attack. It provides recognition of their pain and suffering and gives them a sense of closure when a payment is received. This is very important in helping victims get back to work, especially when they work with the public and can feel very exposed and vulnerable in the workplace after an attack.”

According to the union, shopworkers are particularly vulnerable to the risk of criminal assault. A recent analysis of around 100 cases showed that, if the proposed cuts to the CICS go ahead, 67 per cent would no longer receive any compensation, 22 per cent would see their compensation halved, and 11 per cent of the most seriously injured would have their compensation significantly reduced because of the new loss of earnings calculations.

In 27 cases involving Usdaw members injured or traumatised in an armed robbery, 22 would no longer be eligible for any compensation.

The union also quotes figures from the British Retail Consortium’s (BRC) Annual Survey of Retail Crime in 2011, which recorded 3.7 physical assaults per 1000 workers in 2011, equating to more than 11,000 assaults. Robberies were up by 20 per cent and involved greater use of weapons and serious physical violence.

Payments through the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme are based on 25 tariff bands of increasing seriousness of injury. The cuts will remove the five lowest tariff bands completely and will significantly reduce the amounts paid to tariff bands 6-12. There is no increase to the amounts paid in the remaining tariffs.