Aldi must pay compensation to former employee who was fired after being convicted of sexual assault

Aldi must pay a former salesperson 5,000 euros in compensation. The salesperson was fired after the German supermarket group learned that he had been convicted of sexually harassing a colleague in another job.

The Workplace Relations Commission ruled that the company had unfairly dismissed Muhammad Kashif by “going beyond what was reasonable” when it learned of the conviction through a newspaper report.

Aldi denied that it had unfairly dismissed Mr Kashif and claimed that the company had conducted a comprehensive and fair disciplinary process before dismissing him without notice.

Aldi's legal counsel, Kiwana Ennis, BL, said the former employee was dismissed due to gross misconduct in connection with his conviction for sexual assault.

The WRC heard that on 21 December 2022, Mr Kashif informed his store manager of his conviction the previous day for sexually harassing a colleague at a fast-food restaurant, for which he had received a two-month suspended prison sentence.

However, Ms Ennis claimed that Aldi's senior management did not learn of the District Court conviction until February 2023.

She argued that the decision to dismiss Mr Kashif was “reasonable and proportionate” given Aldi’s duty of care to all its employees.

Ms Ennis pointed out that the company had relied on the plaintiff's employment contract, which provided for immediate dismissal in the event of serious breaches, including conviction of a criminal offence.

While the outcome was admittedly harsh, Ms Ennis claimed it was “within reason” as Aldi had to ensure a safe workplace.

A regional manager, identified only as Ms. A., testified that in February 2023 she was given a newspaper article about Mr. Kashif's court case and asked to “look into the matter.”

Ms A admitted that she was shocked by the seriousness of the offence, but acknowledged that there had been no allegations against Mr Kashif in the past, nor had any colleague in the supermarket where he worked raised any concerns about him.

She stated that she was aware that dismissal was the last option but that she considered that transferring the applicant was out of the question as there were female employees throughout the 160 Aldi stores in Ireland.

Mr H., a store manager at Aldi, who lodged an appeal upholding the decision to dismiss Mr Kashif, said he ultimately concluded that the company could not bear the risk of bringing the complainant into direct contact with other employees again.

Mr H confirmed that Aldi was not satisfied with the inaction of Mr Kashif's store manager, Ms Z, after learning of the conviction in December 2022.

Mr Kashif, who had worked at Aldi since October 2020, was allowed to continue working after informing his store manager, but was subsequently suspended on full pay before being officially dismissed on March 2, 2023.

Mr Kashif's counsel, Constantine McMahon BL, claimed that the dismissal was disproportionate and unreasonable and had caused reputational damage and financial loss to her client.

Ms McMahon acknowledged that the case was somewhat legally complicated because the incident occurred “outside the company's gates”.

In his evidence, Mr Kashif stated that he had pleaded guilty to one count of sexual assault and that the suspended sentence required him to avoid all contact with his victim or her husband.

Mr Kashif said Ms Z supported him after learning of the conviction and agreed with him to call a colleague if the victim or her husband entered the shop.

During cross-examination, he argued that the real reason for his dismissal was the lack of staff and declining sales at Aldi.

Mr Kashif claimed that the sexual assault case had been dealt with in court but that Aldi had subjected him to “further trial”.

The WRC heard that he has found a new job as a part-time pizza maker in April 2023.

In her decision, WRC Decision Officer Patsy Doyle stated that she was satisfied that Mr Kashif's dismissal was based solely on his criminal conviction.

Ms Doyle said the evidence showed a “lack of cohesion” in management at the store where he worked.

She expressed concern that Mr Kashif had acted to his own detriment by not being accompanied by anyone during the disciplinary proceedings.

Ms Doyle said she had also noticed some inconsistency in the way Aldi had handled the issue, saying it was “very unusual” that his conviction had not been recorded nor had an action plan been drawn up by store manager Ms Z.

The WRC official said the criminal conviction was “an extremely serious situation for a reputable employer”, even though it had no connection with Aldi.

Ms Doyle acknowledged that the company was “stunned” when the media reported on Mr Kashif’s sexual assault about eight weeks later.

However, it could not accept that Aldi had acted in good faith when it accused Mr Kashif of failing to report the matter to his manager as the reason for his suspension.

Ms Doyle noted that Aldi did not provide Mr Kashif with a copy of the investigation report before his dismissal.

It concluded that the company exceeded the bounds of reasonableness by its “piecemeal and uncoordinated approach” in communicating Mr. Kashif’s conviction to his supervisor in December 2022.

Ms Doyle said it was not good practice not to give weight to this statement and noted that no disciplinary action had been taken against Ms Z.

While there was no doubt that Kashif's conviction presented Aldi with a “monumental management challenge,” Aldi paid no attention to his impeccable work record and uneventful work routine in the eight weeks following his conviction, she said.

Ms Doyle said Aldi had been “overwhelmed by the recent publication of a newspaper report and lost in its fear of potential damage to the company”.

She did not agree that the conviction had had a negative impact on Aldi and said that the eight uneventful weeks that Mr Kashif subsequently worked for the company should be seen as evidence that he had “weathered a storm”.

The WRC found that Aldi was not mentioned by name in any report of the plaintiff's conviction, but that Mr Kashif had contributed 50 percent to his death.

The court ordered Aldi to pay the plaintiff compensation of 5,000 euros, which corresponds to two months' salary.