Factory worker for frozen food company tries to sue her employers because it's too cold

By ELIZABETH HAIGH, SENIOR NEWS REPORTER Published: 11:03, 25 June 2026 | Updated: 11:16, 25 June 2026 A factory worker employed by a frozen food company tried to sue her employer, claiming her work environment was too cold. Gabriela Bolohan told her bosses that her heart could stop if she worked in particularly cold areas and she needed to move to a warmer workplace, a tribunal heard. She started working at Solway Foods at its Rogerstone site, in Newport, Wales, as a Food Production Operative in July 2024, producing chilled and frozen recipe meals. Ms Bolohan - who has Raynaud's disease, a bloodflow condition that is triggered by the cold - said that the company initially forced her to work in temperatures between zero to five degrees Celsius. She claimed her partner had been moved to the potato plant because his arthritis was causing issues in the cold conditions, but she was not afforded the same treatment. But at a hearing held in Cardiff, her claims of sex discrimination and a failure to make reasonable adjustments were unsuccessful, as the judge ruled that the context of the workplace being a chilled and frozen food company had to be taken into consideration. When she took the job she did not notify the company of any illnesses or disabilities, the hearing was told. She started working in the 'Dolly Up' area of the site, where she would pack, stack, sleeve and handle chilled and frozen products. Gabriela Bolohan told her bosses that her heart could stop if she worked in particularly cold areas at the factory at Rogerstone (pictured) in Newport, Wales This had operating temperatures between zero and five degrees Celsius. In October 2024, Ms Bolohan told her bosses that she was experiencing dizziness, fever and muscle and bone pain. She was referred to occupational health and moved to the 'Pod' area where she worked on the chilled products, rather than the frozen ones. In December 2024, she was diagnosed with Raynaud's Syndrome and requested to be moved to a warmer environment. Raynaud's disease is a condition where blood flow is temporarily reduced causing the extremities to change colour. She said that she wanted to be moved to the potato plant, where her partner Petru Ghiarasim worked, because it was warmer. In response to being told that the Pod was a warmer area and that it was not appropriate to move her to where her partner worked, Ms Bolohan told Lisa Lewis, the shift manager: 'The only option given was Pod, but it's still cold and frozen, I went to [A&E] after work on Sun[day] and was told that due to me working in the cold, my heart may stop. 'On the line I'm moving, but in pod I am standing and sleeving, and it's very cold.' She was placed on medical suspension because the company was concerned about her comments about her heart stopping, and they wanted to carry out risk assessments. Ms Bolohan was signed off as unfit for work and given statutory sick pay, but she said that she felt able to come back to work. In April 2025, Ms Bolohan raised a grievance about her treatment, including, but not limited to, being placed on statutory sick pay and alleged failures to implement reasonable adjustments. She returned to work at the potato plant in May 2025 and her grievances were not upheld by the company. Employment Judge Stephen Povey ruled that Ms Bolohan's claims of sex discrimination and a failure to make adjustments were not upheld. He said: 'I am reminded of the nature of [Solway's] business, namely chilled and frozen meals. By definition, its working environment is cold.' He said that the firm had enabled Ms Bolohan 'to return to work in a safe and healthy manner, and in circumstances which do not pose a risk to her health conditions in general, and her Raynaud's Syndrome in particular'. 'Drawing all that together, I concluded that when [Solway] was under a duty to make reasonable adjustments, it met that duty. 'In other words, there was no breach of the duty on [Solway] to make reasonable adjustments, the complaint is not made out and it is dismissed.' Judge Povey said that the company were only made aware that she had Raynaud's after she had started working at the factory, so they could not be expected to have made adjustments before her diagnosis. He said: 'In my judgement, [Solway] acted promptly upon receipt of the advice from OH and [Ms Bolohan's] GP. 'It was not until receipt of the advice from the medical professionals that the duty was further triggered, since it was not until then that [Solway] could have reasonably and objectively known that working in the Pod was placing [her] at substantial disadvantage because of her disability. '[She] alleged that she was denied the chance to work in a warmer environment as a result of her medical suspension, which took effect from February 6, 2025. 'However, and as found, it was entirely correct, proper and reasonable for [Solway] to suspend [her] in circumstances where she shared with [Solway] medical advice that her heart might stop in cold environments. 'To not remove [her] from that environment and that risk would have been reckless and dangerous. '[Solway] cannot be criticised in any respect for the actions it quite rightly took on February 6, 2025. 'To characterise that decision and those actions as denying [her] the opportunity to work in a warmer environment is misplaced, misconceived and ignores the reality of what [she] was telling [Solway] at the time. 'Thereafter, [Solway] did everything reasonably possible to support and assist [her] back into the workplace, by exploring both her medical needs and a range of options within its site where she could safely work. 'As a result of those endeavours, and upon receiving new information regarding [her] health conditions, a workable, safe compromise was found, which enabled [her] to rejoin the workforce in the Potato Plant from May 23, 2025.' The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. 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