Lidl manager who believed warehouse work 'too physical' for women loses claim over sacking

A former Lidl deputy logistics manager has lost his unfair dismissal claim after being sacked for remarks about female warehouse workers. Gabor Hoff, employed by Lidl Ireland since 2008, was dismissed from his position at the company's distribution centre in Charleville, County Cork, on 16 December 2022. The Workplace Relations Commission heard that Mr Hoff had stated to colleagues in October 2022 that warehouse work was unsuitable for women because it was too physically demanding. An agency worker made a formal complaint after the incident, which occurred following a female colleague's workplace injury. Mr Hoff was already subject to a final written warning for previous inappropriate gender-related comments and had recently completed dignity at work training. At the tribunal, Mr Hoff disputed the accuracy of the statements against him, claiming they were taken out of context. Adjudicator David James Murphy found dismissal was a reasonable response given the circumstances and the previous warning, dismissing the claim as not well founded.