Lidl’s Valuable 500 Commitment:
We’re proud to announce that Lidl Ireland and Northern Ireland have joined the Valuable 500, a global movement putting disability on the business agenda.
It is important to us that all our team members are proud of what we achieve together in Lidl. The #WeAreLidl people policy has, and continues to, engage colleagues and foster a culture of inclusivity driven by our values – Respect, Recognition, Responsibility and Trust.
In joining we are committing to the following:
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We will appoint a Board Director Sponsor to Champion our Diversity and Inclusion progress including our disability agenda.
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We will provide inclusion training for our board and each Department Head by the end of 2021. Alongside this we will work with an external consultant to provide a train the trainer workshop for our HR team.
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With the help of a third-party specialist, we will conduct an audit of our job application, existing policy and procedure processes to ensure that they are fully accessible.
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We will introduce a Just A Minute (JAM) card within our Lidl Plus App, helping to further an accessible environment for all of our customers.
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In 2021 we will commission external experts to identify, develop and implement strategies that address our most pressing inclusion needs, and also highlight the marketplace opportunities of a truly inclusive business in retail. Our aim is to develop on our progress in the area of diversity and inclusion by setting an inclusive business roadmap for 2022.
This continues our commitment to putting disability on the business agenda. In 2019, we rolled out Autism Aware Quiet Evenings across all of our stores offering customers a calmer shopping environment and the security knowing that additional assistance is available. In 2020, we added an accessibility tool to our A Better Tomorrow sustainability website. We rely on our partners to help develop our access programmes including Cope Foundation, the Prince’s Trust and Business in the Community. Collaboration is key to our success in this area such as with Assistance Dog’s Northern Ireland (ADNI) and Autism Assistance Dogs Ireland (AADI) putting two dogs through training with the intention of being given to families of children with Autism in Ireland and Northern Ireland.
We hope that in joining this movement that we can further make progress on our goal to build a high-performing, diverse and inclusive workforce based on respect, acceptance and trust.
