Boots at Gemini slammed over searing heat in store

New reports suggest that the sweltering heat experienced in the store has even left customers on the brink of collapse.

One disgruntled employee has even claimed that there are dead rats in the ventilation systems at the Gemini store.

The store has come under fire from employees (Image: Maps)

It is claimed that the air conditioning system at the Boots store is broken, with promises of it being fixed being left by the wayside as workers continue to struggle in the store's extreme heat.

A whistleblower spoke to the Warrington Guardian about the conditions, saying: "Contractors come and they are opening up the vents to find rats and mice - they say 'We're not touching it until the rats are gone,' which means that we're waiting on exterminators.

"Then we have to organise for the exterminators to be in on the same day as the ventilation system technicians."

When asked previously about working conditions in the store, Boots told the Warrington Guardian that measures are in place to help staff members cope, such as having fans in the store and supplying plenty of drinking water.

Responding to this, one employee said: "They do have water, but they don't order enough in.

"The managers themselves are in the same boat as us, and they're getting told God knows what by head office - they're in the thick of it."

Speaking on Friday, August 11, one employee said: "The heat in this shop today you wouldn’t leave a dog in it, let alone expect staff to be in it for nine hours; it’s a disgrace.

"Honestly it’s awful, a client's just nearly collapsed and had to sit down."

When asked what the worst parts of the experience are, the Gemini worker said: "I think it’s just the constant frustration of the lies we get told from one week to the other.

"Then cut to now, week in and week out finding dead rats in the units, wires that have been chewed through from the rats - it’s exhausting listening to the excuses."

Staff members were told for a long time that the reason the system could not be fixed was due to the right parts not yet being available. 

The worker said: "We have been told the parts needed are now obsolete and we need a new system which we have all been telling them for years.

"We have had so many team members fall in with water infections, teams with heat exhaustion and all the symptoms that come with that.

"Teams suffering with asthma are struggling; enough is enough, no one is happy."

One individual is the parent of a Boots employee on Gemini Retail Park, they told the Warrington Guardian: "I am fed up with my daughter coming home from work feeling ill and exhausted because of the atrocious heat in the store.

"Staff are fainting, customers are being ill and yet the air con has not been fixed for five years and enough is enough.

"The store gets to 36 or 37 degrees and higher, and the portable fans they have cut out all the time.

"It’s not safe."

A Boots spokesperson said: "We are expecting the air conditioning to be fixed at our Warrington Gemini Retail Park store.

"In the meantime, we have mobile air coolers in place around the store to help keep both team members and customers as cool as possible."

Boots say that measures being taken to mitigate the effects of high temperatures in te store include:

• Additional cold water being available
• Staff are encouraged to take additional breaks outside
• Staff have the option of wearing looser cooler clothing instead of their usual uniform