A dental nurse who took her former employer to tribunal over everything from air conditioning controls to unpleasant workplace smells has walked away with £2,574 – but not for the reasons she hoped.

Agnieszka Tarnawska brought a string of claims against Smile Dental Clinic after resigning in August 2025, arguing that a new air conditioning system worsened her heart condition because she could not adjust the temperature in her treatment room.

She also complained about foul drain smells lingering at the practice for years, problems getting the right Covid face masks during the pandemic, having to buy work items with her own money before being reimbursed, and poor communication over last-minute staffing changes.

But the Employment and Discrimination Tribunal dismissed all of those claims.

The hearing centred on the clinic’s new air conditioning system, which kept treatment rooms between 21°C and 23°C.

Miss Tarnawska said being unable to control the temperature left her “really uncomfortable” because of a heart condition, while other members of staff appeared to be able to adjust their own rooms.

In one WhatsApp exchange with practice director Gurdeep Pangali, she complained: “I am suffering from heart problems and high blood pressure which makes me really uncomfortable to work.”

Dr Pangali told her to “just work it out”, suggesting that she could switch the air-con system off if it became too cool.

Miss Tarnawska sent the practice director a photo of her air-con controller, accompanying with a message stating that it is “freezing”.

Dr Pangali responded: “Then you turn the thing off. I don’t want any more conversations about this please Aggie it’s a joke”.

The tribunal accepted that Miss Tarnawska has a disability but ruled the clinic had not discriminated against her.

It found the temperature fluctuations caused “minor” discomfort but not a “substantial disadvantage”, and said the air conditioning system was designed to maintain stable temperatures suitable for a clinical environment.

The tribunal also dismissed complaints about an intermittent foul smell at the clinic, finding the practice had made repeated efforts over several years to trace and fix the drainage problem.

Claims over Covid PPE, unpaid wages, constructive unfair dismissal and notice pay also failed.

However, the tribunal did find that Smile Dental Clinic breached employment law by failing to provide Miss Tarnawska with a written contract within four weeks of starting work in 2019.

She did not receive one until more than a year later, when the practice needed contracts to access Covid furlough funding.

Describing the delay as unjustified, the tribunal awarded Miss Tarnawsk three weeks’ pay, amounting to £2,574.