Pret A Manger fined £800,000 after employee's chilling experience

Pret A Manger holds a special place in the hearts of Brits. Whether you dip in for your morning coffee, have a soft spot for their sweet treats, or enjoy a hearty sandwich from your local Pret from time to time, it is a brand that people trust.

Well, Pret is now facing a lot of criticism after one London employee underwent a terrifying experience while working at the chain’s Victoria coach station shop. The employee was trapped in the walk-in freezer for two and a half hours.

Her chilling experience

On 29 July 2021, the employee was going about a normal day when she walked into the freezer… and couldn’t get out. She was wearing just jeans and a t-shirt in the room that is typically kept at a terrifying -18C. The worker could not get out, so used her common sense to try and stay warmer than frozen her surroundings.

She moved around, but her breathing became restricted and at one point she realised she was losing feeling in her thighs and feet.No one opened the door to the freezer, so for over two hours this employee was desperately trying to find some way to survive.

At one point, she tried to rip up a cardboard box containing chocolate croissants to use the packaging to block the cold air that the ventilator was pumping into the room. Her hands were too cold; she didn’t have the strength to tear the material.

Pret A Manger fined £800,000

Eventually, acolleague found the worker and let her out. She was treated for suspected hypothermia.After this disaster in 2021, it was found there had been no suitable risk assessment in place for employees working in environments with such low temperatures. On Tuesday 29 August, Pret pleaded guilty to a health and safety offence at Westminster Magistrates' Court .

It also seems this was not a one-off incident: the chain’s reporting system revealed there had been many call-outs in the previous 19 months regarding faulty or frozen push buttons.

On a different occasion in January 2020, at the same remote kitchen, another employee was trapped in the walk-in freezer after being unable to open the door from inside because of a problem with the internal door release mechanism.

Read more:Man who died for 7 minutes reveals what he saw in the afterlife and how he escaped death

Westminster City Council's deputy leader and cabinet member for communities, public protection and licensing, Aicha Less, said:

We hope the significant fine awarded in court acts to all businesses as a warning.

A Pret spokesperson has said the chain is ‘very sorry’ for this worker’s scary experience. The business announced that it has done everything it can to make sure this does not happen again. Pret has had discussions with the manufacturer, and a full review has been carried out.

Read more:

⋙ Woman died after fatal reaction to Pret A Manger wrap: Inquest begins

⋙ The 3 most painful ways to die and the reasons why, according to science

Sources used:

BBC: Pret a Manger fined over London worker stuck in freezer

The Independent: Pret A Manger fined £800,000 after employee’s ‘shocking’ ordeal trapped in walk-in freezer