Lidl has been directed to pay €28,000 to a warehouse worker who was informed there was no suitable work available after he developed a hernia and was limited to light duties.
The Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) granted the compensation to Lukasz Swiercz for disability discrimination by his employer, Lidl Ireland GmbH, after finding it failed to make adjustments to his role when he attempted to return to work, reports RTE.
Mr Swiercz, who worked as a stock picker handling groceries at a Lidl warehouse in Newbridge, Co Kildare, told the tribunal he became unwell at work in January 2025 and was sent to hospital, where he was later diagnosed with a hernia.
He returned in March that year with a GP note confirming he was fit to work but “for light duties only, can do a desk job, no heavy lifting”, the tribunal heard, reports RTE.
He was subsequently sent home by a manager and told to provide a certificate once he was fully fit to resume work.
The following day, logistics manager Phillip Byrne called Mr Swiercz and said that after reviewing his medical certificate, there was “no available position” for him, according to Mr Swiercz, reports RTE.
It was not until 17 July 2025 that Mr Swiercz was referred to an occupational health practitioner by Lidl, following a letter from his solicitor to the company earlier that month.
By the end of August, the complainant received a letter stating that “light duties” were considered “too restrictive” as a workplace accommodation in the warehouse environment, reports RTE.
However, the correspondence indicated that Mr Swiercz could return to work on a “phased return basis”.
Mr Swiercz said in evidence that he resumed work on 15 September 2025, initially handling lighter items before returning to his regular duties after about two weeks, when he resumed lifting items such as milk and butter, reports RTE.
Mr Byrne told the tribunal that warehouse work was “a very physical job with daily targets” involving “moving, bending and lifting boxes of different rates”.
He said he was concerned that he could not ensure Mr Swiercz’s safety under the restrictions outlined in the March 2025 medical letter, reports RTE.
“The position is that we do not facilitate lighter duties,” Mr Byrne told the tribunal, reports RTE.
Adjudication officer Elizabeth Spelman found that Lidl “failed to provide reasonable accommodation” to Mr Swiercz and ruled that its actions constituted disability discrimination.
She awarded €28,000 in compensation—roughly equivalent to a year’s salary—taking into account six months of financial loss and the need for the award to act as a deterrent, reports RTE.
The claimant was represented by solicitor Krystian Boino, while Roland Rowan BL appeared for Lidl, instructed by Fieldfisher Ireland LLP.
The adjudicator noted that Lidl’s legal submissions referenced a previous back injury suffered by Mr Swiercz and a settlement agreement from August 2021, reports RTE.
“A previous back injury and settlement agreement do not exempt the respondent from its obligations under the Employment Equality Act,” she wrote, reports RTE.
In determining compensation, Ms Spelman considered Lidl’s failure to engage in any meaningful way with Mr Swiercz about referring him to occupational health until his solicitor intervened.
Lidl’s “broad-brush position in refusing reasonable accommodations to warehouse operatives” was also taken into account in the award, reports RTE.
Ms Spelman also “note[d] with concern” that Lidl contacted Mr Swiercz six weeks after sending him home, referencing possible disciplinary action related to compliance with its absence management procedures, reports RTE.
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