‘As a household name we’d expect them to treat staff with respect’ - Boots accused of risking staff's health

Angry essential workers at Boots on Edinburgh’s Princes Street have accused management of putting employees' health at risk by refusing to improve ‘freezing' and 'unsanitary' working conditions.

Staff at the health and beauty retailer say they are at breaking point due to ‘filthy’ facilities and arctic temperatures in the store.

Frozen employees worried about their health have even resorted to wearing gloves while on shift at the city centre store.

One long-serving staff member said that employees finish each shift “shivering with cold'' due to broken heating causing temperatures in the shop to plummet below zero.

Boots on Princes Street Image by: Malcolm McCurrach

They said: “Over the past few weeks we have had to work in freezing cold conditions as the store's heating is broken.

“It got so bad that staff members have taken to wearing multiple layers of clothing as well as having to wear gloves in store, which is frankly ludicrous.

“Multiple people have reached out to management to have this issue resolved but we always seem to be shrugged off and made to feel as though it’s no big deal.”

In response to this allegation, a spokesperson from Boots said that a temporary heating system has been installed in the store while repairs are underway.

The spokesperson said: “Care for our colleagues and customers is of the utmost importance. We can confirm that we are working urgently with contractors to fix the heating in our Princes Street store, and in the meantime, we have installed some large temporary heating units.”

However distressed shop workers said that the heating system has been an issue for the last two winters and they do not believe anything is being done to solve it.

On top of the frosty work environment employees say staff facilities are “frankly disgusting” and one horrified employee found muck smeared on toilet cubicle walls.

They said: “It is not uncommon to find used sanitary products strewn across the toilets, nor is it uncommon to come across un-flushed and soiled toilets. There has even been smeared muck on cubicle walls. It’s frankly disgusting.

“Given Boots are a household name and one of the biggest companies in the country, we’d expect them to treat their staff and facilities with a bit more respect.”

The staff kitchen facilities are considered unusable with microwave, fridge and kettle are all “extremely dirty” and are “never cleaned”.

A Boots worker said: “They never get cleaned no matter how many times it’s brought up. It’s extremely unhygienic.”

Boots strongly denied these claims and said their staff facilities are cleaned each morning.

The spokesperson insisted: “We have a full cleaning schedule. Staff toilets are thoroughly cleaned each morning, and again throughout the day if needed.

“We have also increased cleaning measures across the whole store as additional reassurance for our customers and colleagues throughout the Covid-19 pandemic.”

One staff member said that the ‘unhygienic’ and ‘freezing’ store is making the already difficult task of working storefront during Covid-19 much harder.

They added: “Morale in the store is very bad at the moment. Due to lockdown the store is a lot quieter than usual and sales targets are not being made. Now, with the added factor of a freezing cold working environment with less than sanitary facilities morale is a lot worse."

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