Lidl Employee awarded £37,109.38 after being made redundant because he didn’t have a degree.

In January 2023, Lidl restructured its property team, reducing the number of Senior Construction Consultants in Doncaster from three to one. At the time, Mr Norman was 63 years old and had worked for Lidl for 22 years.

Mr Norman was placed in a redundancy pool with two colleagues in their 30s. Selection was based on a scoring matrix including experience, knowledge (including possession of a construction-related degree), skills, and performance.

Mr Norman did not have a degree, unlike his younger colleagues, and was scored lower on the "knowledge" criterion. He was selected for redundancy and dismissed in March 2023. Mr Norman was also not given the opportunity to challenge his scores during the consultation process. 

The Tribunal found that those over the age of 60 were less likely to hold a university degree and Mr Norman had been indirectly discriminated against. Mr Norman also brought claims for direct age discrimination, but the Tribunal found these were not well founded as Mr Norman had a good relationship with his work colleagues and it was unlikely he would have brought these claims If he had not been made redundant. 

As an employer you should ensure a fair redundancy process is followed and you do not discriminate. 

Please contact our Employment Team on 0330 088 2275 for more information on how we can assist you.