Supermarket Chain Forced to Pay Muslim Employee €5,000 for “Unfair Dismissal” After Firing Him Over His Sexual Assault Conviction

Supermarket chain Aldi has been forced to pay €5,000 to Mohammed Kashif, for “unfairly dismissing” him after they found out he had been convicted of sexually assaulting a former colleague.

In May of 2022, Kashif sexually assaulted mother-of-two Donna O’Loughlin as she attended her first day on the job at the Kebabish chip shop in Foynes, County Limerick. Over the course of three hours, Kashif “slid his hand over her buttocks and then slapped her buttocks quite firmly… asked her for kisses and for sex… twice grabbed her vagina.” Kashif even rubbed himself against her, asking if she could feel his erection, explained Detective Elaine O’Keefe at his sentencing hearing in December 2022.

Following his conviction, Kashif, who had a second job at Aldi, reportedly informed his store manager, who allegedly “adopted a supportive role” and failed to inform more senior staff. When the senior staff became aware in February of 2023, Kashif was dismissed, with Aldi citing concerns for the safety of other female staff.

However, Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer Pasty Doyle awarded the payment of €5,000 to Kashif, the equivalent to two month’s gross pay, finding he was unfairly dismissed.

Doyle argued that there was no “sufficient connection between the crime committed and the employee’s work, in such a way that would render the employee unsuitable or capable of damaging the employer’s reputation.” She claimed that Aldi had taken “no regard” to Kashif’s “unblemished record … [nor to] the 8 weeks of uneventful service post declaration.”

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During the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) hearing, Kashif complained that “no thought was given to his family status” when he was dismissed as only a “crazy person would repeat the behavior” if they were the sole earner in the household. {snip}

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