Staff and shoppers swelter in 37C heat in Chantry Place Zara

Whistleblowers working at Zara, in Chantry Place, have described the store as "hotter than hell" and our undercover (and rather sweaty) reporter took a thermometer in to prove it. 

Staff and shoppers alike have reported the mercury soaring for the past two months - and it has been even worse this week as a heatwave struck.

And the reason? The air conditioning is bust. 

The air conditioning in Zara, Chantry Place, stopped working more than a month ago (Image: Denise Bradley)

According to one member of staff the heat caused a customer to keel over and some employees have have struggled with headaches and dizziness.

When our reporter went into the store to gauge the temperature it was hitting nearly 40C.

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The Zara insider said: "The working conditions are awful.

"Customers are walking out after 10 minutes because it's so hot.

Staff and shoppers are suffering under the oppressive heat inside the store (Image: Supplied)

"I'm constantly getting headaches and many of the staff spend all day dizzy."

The employee claims that the store’s changing rooms have had to be closed due to a shopper passing out in one of the booths.

‘LIKE WORKING IN A SAUNA’

There is no law for maximum working temperatures, however companies are obliged to make staff as comfortable as possible.

Industrial fans have been dotted around the shop but they are doing little to lower the temperature (Image: Newsquest)

But staff claim that little has been done to help make working in the store more bearable.

"It's like working in a sauna," the employee said.

"And they haven't relaxed our uniform to make it more comfortable which is outrageous.

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"The company even sent an email to say we're not allowed to wear tank tops instead of the black uniform t-shirts and horrible polyester trousers.

"The managers don't have a uniform so they can wear what they want such as dresses and shorts."

People are passing out in the store's changing rooms due to the heat (Image: Newsquest)

But according to the worker, the store managers are looking past uniform violations because of the immense heat.

WHEN WILL IT BE FIXED?

Staff say that they have approached Zara’s human resources to find out when the air con will be fixed.

They were told that the company was receiving a quote for the repair work but it was still in discussion.

Zara is not doing enough to make the work environment comfortable, a source has claimed (Image: Newsquest)

"As far as I know there's been no update," the worker added.

"It's been nearly two months of this. There are parts of the store where I can't bear to go.

"We were also told it's an unauthorised absence if we call in sick due to the heat.

The mercury is soaring to nearly 40C amid the heatwave (Image: Newsquest)

"The other workers and I just feel so hard done by because we don't have a union or anything like that."

FAULTY AIR CONDITIONING

This is not the first time the Chantry Place store has suffered from faulty air conditioning.

Last year it faced a similar issue which persisted for more than two months before it was fixed.

This year, however, is shaping up to be hotter and more humid than last, making conditions more unbearable for those who work or shop there.

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A Chantry Place spokeswoman said: "We are in regular contact with Zara about the air conditioning and the progress they are making to get this sorted for both their team and visitors in store.

"Zara has put in some temporary air conditioning units while they progress a longer-term solution, which we are supporting them with."

Zara failed to respond to enquiries from this paper.

Workers and shoppers are continuing to suffer (Image: Denise Bradley)