An employee at Lidl’s headquarters in Ireland who was dismissed after missing 69 days of work over a 16-month period due to sick leave has been awarded €16,000 in compensation, reports Breaking News.
The Workplace Relations Commission has ruled that a German supermarket group unfairly dismissed warehouse worker Mihalis Buinenko over workplace attendance.
Lidl Ireland denied Buinenko’s dismissal was unfair and said the decision to fire him was “fair and reasonable”.
Lidl’s legal representatives said the company launched an investigation in May 2021 following complaints of unreliable store attendance over the past 16 months.
Lidl Ireland’s general counsel, Paul Twomey BL, said the investigation found that allegations of undue disruption to Lidl’s business involved serious misconduct.
In particular, Mr. Twomey noted that the report found that Mr. Buinenko failed to show up for work on 69 occasions, reports Breaking News.
Cross-examination
Under cross-examination by Mr Buinenko’s defence lawyer, Dermot Sheehan BL, the manager accepted that Mr Buinenko’s 69 days of absence from work were not unauthorized absences because he had complied with Lidl’s sick leave policy.
The witness also admitted that Lidl did not refer Mr. Buinenko for an occupational health assessment.
Buinenko, who has been with the company since September 2010, alleged that he was unfairly dismissed on June 4, 2021 for gross misconduct after undergoing an unfair disciplinary process.
During cross-examination, Mr Buinenko admitted that his attendance had been the subject of previous investigations and that his attendance had been a problem for Lidl, reports Breaking News.
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