A former Lidl worker diagnosed with a fear of rejection will receive a £45,000 payout after successfully suing the retailer for unfair dismissal.
Ryan Toghill was fired for gross misconduct after he was caught operating a forklift against the orders of his boss – a violation he tried to excuse with his ongoing hernia.
But a judge ruled the company failed to make adjustments for Mr Toghill’s ‘intense sensitivity’ to rejection as a result of his ADHD, and ordered the company to pay compensation.
One of the reasons for the sacking was Mr Toghill’s lack of remorse, but it was ruled that his disability made him seem indifferent – even if he was not.
Mr Toghill began working at Lidl in Newport, Monmouthshire, in October 2019 as a shift manager, before being promoted to deputy store manager in June 2022.
He was diagnosed with ADHD in May 2022 and, as part of his condition, is acutely affected by the impression of being rejected, harassed or criticised, and by the feeling that nobody likes him, the ruling stated.
The tribunal heard that in the store’s warehouse, employees used powered pallet trucks (PPTs) – heavy, powerful pieces of equipment weighing around a ton.
Staff received refresher training for the machinery once every six months, but Mr Toghill said that it was ‘commonplace’ for people to operate it without.
Ryan Toghill successfully sued supermarket giant Lidl after being unfairly sacked due to rejection sensitivity – a symptom of ADHD
Mr Toghill was transferred to this Lidl in Ystrad Mynach, south Wales, but was sacked soon afterwards for using a machine without permission
Mr Toghill was diagnosed with a hernia in July 2023 and was transferred to Lidl’s store in Ystrad Mynach, ten miles inland, at the same time.
The manager of his new store, Ms Ogden, recalled him asking early on whether he could use PPTs, and she told him that he must not.
He later informed her about his diagnosis of a hernia, and said that it made pulling pallets around manually more difficult.
Ms Ogden offered to change his working habits, but Mr Toghill declined – instead saying he intended to get permission to use PPTs.
Over the following days, multiple staff members reported to the store manager that Mr Toghill had been secretly using the machinery on the shop floor, waiting for certain team members to leave before doing so. An investigation was launched into the allegations.
A disciplinary meeting in August 2023 found Mr Toghill had disregarded Ms Ogden’s authority and failed to show any remorse for his wrongdoing.
They claimed he had gone against the instructions of his boss, withheld information within the disciplinary hearing and engaged in ‘deliberate deception’.
After an appeal failed, Mr Toghill was offered a demoted role as a shift manager which bosses argued was ‘better suited’ to him – but the employee saw this as discriminatory and rejected the position.
Lidl bosses claimed Mr Toghill had a ‘lack of remorse’ – but an employment judge ruled this perception was due to his rejection sensitivity
Mr Toghill then took his case to the employment tribunal in Cardiff.
In a judgment published at the end of last year, Employment Judge Samantha Moore said Mr Toghill was put at a ‘substantial disadvantage’ during the disciplinary process because of his disability.
The judge said that Lidl did not fully appreciate he had ADHD and side effects of it so he mistakenly thought he was showing a lack of remorse.
Judge Moore said ‘Lidl failed to take into account Mr Toghill’s disability’.
She said that as a result of his ADHD, Mr Toghill ‘experiences “rejection sensitivity” which is intense sensitivity to the impression of being rejected, harassed, or criticised.
‘It also caused [Mr Toghill] feelings of extreme anxiety in social or work settings due to the belief that no one likes him.’
The judgement continued: ‘He experiences “ADHD paralysis” – which is an inability to initiate, complete, or sustain tasks due to overwhelming feelings of anxiety, stress, or mental fatigue.
‘[He] needs time to process questions. It often seems as though [Mr Toghill] is not listening when he is spoken to directly, and he will have difficulty concentrating on a conversation.’
Mr Toghill also needs ‘extra time to complete detailed tasks’, finds it difficult to ‘sustain attention’, and ‘can fail to follow through on instructions’, the judge added.
In her ruling, Judge Moore said: ‘This Tribunal considers that on the face of it, [Lidl] were perfectly entitled to denote use of the PPT truck on the shop floor as gross misconduct.
‘It was obvious that this was a policy [staff] take very seriously and rightly so.
‘[Mr Toghill’s] ADHD does mean he has communication difficulties… ADHD is a neurodiverse condition that affects people in many different ways.
‘The impact on one person, with the same disability, may not necessarily be the same as the impact on another.
‘We find that [Mr Toghill’s] ADHD did put him at a substantial disadvantage during the disciplinary procedure, specifically the disciplinary hearing and applied sanction of dismissal but not the investigation or appeal stage.’
Other complaints of unfavourable treatment due to disability and direct disability discrimination were unsuccessful.
Lidl was eventually ordered to pay £45,147 in compensation to Mr Toghill.
Mr Toghill previously told the Daily Mail: ‘Regarding the judgment, it’s of course great to receive some kind of justice for the treatment I was subjected to.
‘It’s a little frustrating and disappointing how backlogged the system is, as this took around 18 months from start to finish, which really shows how frequently things like this are happening.
‘I would say I’m “content” with the end result, not happy. The sum awarded doesn’t cover the amount of money I lost – and continue to lose – as unfortunately, I’m still out of work.
‘My health has dramatically declined since the incident and I still find myself unable to seek employment.’
He added the experience has meant he is now able to help others in similar situations: ‘Due to having ADHD and little else to do, I hyper-focused the hell out of my case despite having a solicitor, as it’s the only thing I could focus on at all,’ he said.
‘The result of that, is my knowledge of employment law is pretty great, and I’ve actually been trying to help others in similar situations. I’ve had a few people reach out to me on Reddit asking for my advice.
‘In a perfect world, I might look into making a career out of it, but at the moment my health has to come first as it’s very much holding me back.’
