Great British Menu chef Stephen Terry's restaurant suffered £150000 fraud, court told
Pret a Manger fined £800,000 over London worker stuck in freezer
Airport chef disgraced after £2,200,000 claim thrown out by Oxford Crown Court
Restaurant director fined £30,000 after dead mice, droppings and rotting food discovered at pizza outlet
Restaurant owner fined £10,000 after telling EHO officers mouldy chicken was in fact traditional crab meat dish
The Cross at Kenilworth fined over £25,000 after apprentice chef suffers severe scalding
Pret a Manger has been fined £800,000 after an employee was trapped in a walk-in freezer for more than two hours before later being treated for hypothermia.
According to BBC News, Westminster Magistrates Court heard that in July 2021 the employee was trapped inside the freezer dressed in just jeans and a t-shirt.
The incident which occurred in July 2021 was presented to Westminster Magistrates Court who heard that the employee was trapped inside the freezer in just jeans and a t-shirt.
The court heard that the freezer at a Pret a Manger located in London's Victoria Coach Station was set at minus 18 degrees, with the employee forced to keep warm by moving around in the small space before later losing sensation in her thighs and feet.
In an effort to keep warm, the employee tore up a cardboard box containing chocolate croissants to try and shield herself from the ventilator’s cold air.
After two and half hours the employee was found by a colleague and taken to hospital where she was treated for suspected hypothermia.
The subsequent investigation launched by Westminster City Council's Health and Safety team revealed that there was no suitable risk assessment for employees working in temperature-controlled environments.
It was also revealed via Pret's reporting system that there had been a number of call-outs relating to malfunctioning and frozen push buttons in the previous 19 months, including one at the same remote kitchen in January 2020.
Pret a Manger has pleaded guilty to a health and safety office at Westminster Magistrates Court on the 29 August and has been ordered to pay the council its full costs, as well as a victim surcharge, within 28 days.
The group was fined £800,000 following credit for an early guilty plea and offering mitigation.
In these challenging times…
The Staff Canteen team are taking a different approach to keeping our website independent and delivering content free from commercial influence. Our Editorial team have a critical role to play in informing and supporting our audience in a balanced way. We would never put up a paywall – The Staff Canteen is open to all and we want to keep bringing you the content you want; more from younger chefs, more on mental health, more tips and industry knowledge, more recipes and more videos. We need your support right now, more than ever, to keep The Staff Canteen active. Without your financial contributions this would not be possible.
Over the last 16 years, The Staff Canteen has built what has become the go-to platform for chefs and hospitality professionals. As members and visitors, your daily support has made The Staff Canteen what it is today. Our features and videos from the world’s biggest name chefs are something we are proud of. We have over 560,000 followers across Facebook, X, Instagram, YouTube and other social channels, each connecting with chefs across the world. Our editorial and social media team are creating and delivering engaging content every day, to support you and the whole sector - we want to do more for you.
A single coffee is more than £2, a beer is £4.50 and a large glass of wine can be £6 or more.
Support The Staff Canteen from as little as £1 today. Thank you.
Support Us
CONTRIBUTE
Pret a Manger fined £800,000 over London worker stuck in freezer
Great British Menu chef Stephen Terry's restaurant suffered £150000 fraud, court told
Airport chef disgraced after £2,200,000 claim thrown out by Oxford Crown Court
Restaurant director fined £30,000 after dead mice, droppings and rotting food discovered at pizza outlet
Restaurant owner fined £10,000 after telling EHO officers mouldy chicken was in fact traditional crab meat dish
The Cross at Kenilworth fined over £25,000 after apprentice chef suffers severe scalding
