Aldi has defended closing a till to customers wanting to buy alcohol because a staff member had ‘concerns’ about serving booze.
The discount store’s Northampton branch fixed a sign warning customers no alcohol would be served at one of the checkouts.
It said: ‘No alcohol is able to be served on this till. Sorry for any inconvenience.’
Instead, customers had to use other tills in the store if they wanted to purchase beer, wine or spirits.
The sign was put on display at Aldi’s branch in Northampton (left), where customers who wanted to buy alcohol had to queue up at another till.
Despite a mixed response online, dozens of customers were quick to praise Aldi for its handling of the worker’s needs.
One user wrote: ‘Well done @Aldi for looking after religious concerns by not compelling a Muslim cashier to serve alcohol as part of his job.’
Another said: ‘Well done. Good to see some common sense and respect for employees. Glad I switched to Aldi six years ago.’
Dozens of customers were quick to praise Aldi for its handling of the worker’s requirements
Rachel commented: ‘I think this is great! Well done Aldi for respecting the different religions we have in the UK.’
A spokesman for the store would not confirm what the worker’s concerns were, or whether similar signs would be put in place at other stores.
They told MailOnline: ‘If a colleague raises concerns about a job they have been asked to do, our approach is to try and find a solution.
‘In this instance, we informed customers via a sign on the tills that our colleague would not be serving alcohol.
‘We apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused.’
A spokesman for the store would not confirm what the worker’s concerns were, or whether similar signs would be put in place at other stores
The supermarket’s response was also supplied to dozens of perplexed customers who queried the sign on social media. Many were unhappy with the store closing the till off to customers looking to buy alcohol
The supermarket’s response was also supplied to dozens of perplexed customers who queried the sign on social media.
One user said: ‘@AldiUK I love Aldi, but is it true you won’t serve alcohol at one of your tills in Northampton due to religious sensitivities of staff?’
Another added: ‘Wrong decision. Muslim staff at my local Aldi have no problem checking our alcohol or pork products. Everything is sealed after all.’
It comes after father-of-three Lee Saunders hit out at Tesco after a Muslim shop assistant refused to sell him a bottle of wine due to her religious beliefs.
A Tesco spokesperson apologised for the incident and said staff did all they could to resolve the situation.
Mr Saunders was trying to buy the rosé wine at a superstore in Feltham, Middlesex, when he was told to go to a different till by the worker.