A cheesecake cafe worker has won more than £20,000 after complaining that working with the door open made her cold.
Leila Ayad, who worked at Whipped in Covent Garden in 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”.
After speaking with her manager – named only as Elijah in tribunal documents seen by The Independent – who she was on good terms with, Ms Ayad messaged in the company group chat, which included the owners and staff, that the shop had been getting very cold.
She wrote on 29 November 2023: “Hey guys. I need to bring to attention that the temperature in the shop is getting very cold now with the weather outside. I have spoken to Elijah and he has let me know that we will not be getting a heater nor are we allowed to close the door.
“Please may this be reconsidered as it was very cold all day today and it’s difficult to work like that. I was also wearing three layers and a thermal vest.”
Whipped co-founder Alice Churchill responded to her message explaining that the last time they had a heater, “someone left it on overnight with a piece of paper over it and as a result the shop nearly burnt down”.
Ms Ayad insisted the staff would be “responsible” and added the shop was 12C and that staff are “constantly cold”.
The following month, Ms Ayad wrote in the staff group chat to the manager: “I’ve also heard that in terms of health and safety, the working environment has to be above 16 degrees.”
Later that day Ms Churchill wrote in the group chat that a heater had now been ordered.
In January, Ms Ayad was called to a meeting by Ms Churchill’s husband and co-founder, Jamie Musialek, and accused of being late to work, having a messy stockroom and “criticising” him and his wife at the staff Christmas party.
Following the meeting her hours were reduced, and she was told this was because of a lack of available hours. However, the tribunal found this was not the case.
In April, Ayad was fired over email, and she was not paid any outstanding wages or holiday pay. Her boss said it was because her work was not improving after “formal warnings regarding poor timekeeping, attitude towards the role and respect for team and workplace”.
In the tribunal, Judge Brown found Ms Ayad’s comments were “for the benefit of all employees”. The judge said Ms Ayad was unfairly dismissed because she made “protected disclosures” about the temperature of the cafe. Her other claims, including for wrongful dismissal and failure to pay notice pay, were also successful.
In June this year, Whipped cafe closed and the parent company WL Retail went into liquidation.
