Cafe worker wins £20k for being made to work in cold

A cheesecake cafe worker has won more than £20,000 after complaining that working with the door open made her cold.

- REBECCA WHITTAKER

Leila Ayad, who worked at Whipped in Covent Garden, London, claimed her managers insisted on leaving the door open to encourage customers inside. But because the door was left open even in winter, temperatures inside the cafe dropped to 12C - meaning it was colder than the Health and Safety Executive's guidance that suggests temperatures at work should be a minimum of 16C, an employment tribunal heard.

Ms Ayad said she would wear "three layers and a thermal vest" to stay warm and was told staff could not use an electric heater. When she complained in the company WhatsApp group that it was "difficult to work" in cold temperatures, her hours were reduced and she was later fired.

The part-time shop assistant worked at the cafe between May 2023 and April 2024, and has now been awarded £21,553.51 in compensation after successfully suing for unfair dismissal. The employment judge Jillian Brown said she thought Ms Ayad was "reasonable in her belief that health and safety was being endangered".