Muslim employee sues Tesco

by David Masters

A devout Muslim who was forced to carry alcohol whilst at work in a supermarket is suing his employer for religious discrimination.

Mohammed Ahmed, 32, was employed as a fork-lift truck driver at Tesco’s Lichfield depot in September last year.

The Saudi Arabian national worked at the depot for 8 months before resigning ‘in protest’.

He says he was not told before he started the job that it would involve handling crates of alcoholic drinks - work that contravenes his Islamic beliefs.

When he confronted his supervisor about it he was told that he must do the job or go home.

Ahmed then lodged an official complaint against the company, which caused his supervisors and colleagues to ‘harass’ him.

Tesco’s solicitor, Laura Canham, told an employment tribunal that Ahmed is not being realistic when he says he did not realise what the job would involve.

According to Tesco, Ahmed at no stage raised the question of whether or not he would be handling alcohol.

A spokesperson for Tesco has said that managers are trained to be culturally sensitive to the needs of staff.

An employment tribunal will rule on the case this week.

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