Pret a Manger fined £800K after worker is left trapped in freezer for two-and-a-half hours

By Adrian Zorzut, Local Democracy Reporter

Pret a Manger has been fined £800,000 after a member of staff was left trapped in sub-zero temperatures for two-and-a-half hours

The coffee and sandwich chain pleaded guilty to breaking the Health and Safety at Work Act at Westminster Magistrates’  Court on August 29 following an investigation by Westminster council’s Health and Safety team.

The staff member became trapped in a walk-in commercial freezer that runs at around -18C dressed only in jeans and a T-shirt at the Victoria Coach Station shop in July, 2021.

The worker, who has not been named, tried keeping warm by moving around in the confined space but began feeling unwell from the cold and found her breathing became restricted and was losing sensation in her thighs and feet.

She tried to keep warm by tearing up a cardboard box containing chocolate croissants to use as cover from the ventilator blowing out cold air but found that her hands were too cold and painful to break the box apart.

The worker was eventually found by a colleague in a state of distress and thought she was going to die. She was taken to hospital where she was treated for suspected hypothermia.

Westminster council’s investigation established that there was no suitable risk assessment for employees working in temperature-controlled environments.

The reporting system used by the firm revealed that there had been a number of call-outs relating to defective or frozen push buttons in the previous 19 months, including a previous occasion at the same remote kitchen in January 2020 when a worker had become trapped in the walk-in freezer, having been unable to open the door from the inside. 

On that occasion, the internal door release mechanism was not working.

Pret a Manger pleaded guilty and was ordered to pay the council its full costs, of £800,000 – in addition to a victim surcharge – within 28 days.

Westminster’s deputy leader Aicha Less said: “The shocking details of this case show a lapse of due care and attention. 

“This incident shows that overlooking basic safety measures can have the most serious consequences.

 “We hope the significant fine awarded in court acts to all businesses as a warning, preventing this from ever happening again.

“Westminster City Council will continue to work with businesses to make sure the highest levels of health and safety are consistently maintained and educate staff in safe practice.”

A Pret A Manger spokesman said: “We are incredibly sorry for our colleague’s experience and understand how distressing this must have been.

“We have carried out a full review and worked with the manufacturer to develop a solution to stop this from happening again. 

“Following the incident we have revisited all our existing systems and where appropriate, enhanced these processes, and have co-operated fully with the council’s investigation.”

Pictured top: Victoria Coach Station Picture: Google Street View