Lidl manager who served wine at New Year's party loses €41,000 wrongful dismissal case

Supermarket chain Lidl was justified in its decision to fire a manager at one of its supermarkets for serving alcohol at the New Year’s Eve party he organized for staff, the Subdistrict Court in Middelburg ruled. Three bottles of wine were consumed at the party, even though the man was well aware that it was prohibited for employees to drink alcohol in the store, the court said. The verdict was issued on April 30, and was published on Monday.

The man challenged the dismissal, saying the punishment was too severe for an employee in good standing after nearly 18 months on the job. He demanded more than 41,000 euros in compensation, but the court rejected his claim. Not only did he break company policy, he was also insubordinate and broke rules about declaring Lidl products consumed by staff members, the court said.

The ban on drinking alcohol in the workplace is stated in the man’s employment contract as well as in the personnel handbook. In addition, several other managers warned him that alcohol was not allowed at the New Year’s Eve party held in the supermarket’s canteen on December 30 last year.

A district manager reminded the man that alcohol was not allowed before the party, and the man responded that staff could get it from the store themselves. On January 2, another district manager asked him whether alcohol had been consumed. The man said they did, and he confirmed he knew it wasn’t allowed, the district manager testified.

"My choice to add drinks because I think this is part of a New Year's Eve drink," he allegedly said during a conversation with his own bosses about the party. At least 10 people attended the Monday evening party, including one underage minor. The manager said he just wanted to end the year with a nice evening for the team, and acknowledged, "indeed, the location was not favorable."

"Since [he] allowed employees to drink alcohol and that consumed products were excluded from employee purchases and debits, he also incited employees to violate Lidl's rules," the court determined. He also "ignored" instructions from his own manager, "because he believed that alcohol should be served" at a company happy hour party.

One bottle of Riesling and two bottles of sparkling wine were served. The court said it was proven that the man allowed alcohol to be served, and that he was aware it was prohibited. Furthermore, the bottles were not included on a list of staff purchases or company products marked for disposal. The court said, "he has not provided further and sufficient explanation as to why the bottles of alcohol are not on the write-off list." The court did not accuse the man of theft.

The man argued that he was still young and always functioned well in the past. He started working at the Supermarket in August 2022. He also argued that his own personal circumstances that took place after his firing were punishment enough. Specifically, his plan to buy out his brother from their shared home fell through because of the dismissal. The court said that indeed he was "disadvantaged by the dismissal," but his personal life did not outweigh Lidl's rights to take action against him for violating company rules.

The former manager "could have prevented the situation by adhering to the alcohol ban and by correctly processing personnel purchases and debits," the court said. The man’s dismissal was ruled as justifiable, and the court threw out his demand for severance payments exceeding 41,000 euros.

Additionally, he was ordered to pay Lidl a total of 814 euros for the supermarket chain's legal fees, and another 135 euros in additional costs.