ALDI ‘aggressor’ store assistant’s unfair dismissal bid booted

After becoming the “aggressor” in a physical altercation at an ALDI store, despite initially attempting to intervene, a store assistant had his unfair dismissal application tossed by the Fair Work Commission on serious misconduct grounds.

A former store assistant at ALDI Regency Park store in South Australia has lost his unfair dismissal claim after Fair Work commissioner Jessica Rogers found that, despite guidance and retraining on how to handle customer aggression, the worker committed serious misconduct by engaging in an altercation with a member of the public.

Rogers found that towards the end of a shift in late 2025, the store assistant “intervened in an interaction between two persons present within the ALDI store, one of whom was aggressive”.

After his attempted intervention, the store assistant joined and became the aggressor in the altercation, physically engaging a member of the public, Rogers said in her 29 May judgment.

“The failure to comply with ALDI’s policies and procedures led to the situation escalating to a point where [the worker] became the aggressor in the situation,” the commissioner said.

Based on CCTV footage, there are clear points during the altercation where the store assistant “[continued] to initiate contact with the other person rather than walk away”, Rogers noted.

The store assistant was dismissed one month after being provided opportunities to respond to the allegations of serious misconduct.

In its submissions to the commission, ALDI highlighted policy that, when dealing with aggressive or violent customers, “if an employee feels unsafe, they should remove themselves from the situation” and that a manager should be contacted to deal with the situation.

The commission found that before the incident, the store assistant was taken through a “leadership conversation” on how to handle aggression and violence in mid-2025, followed by further retraining on dealing with customer aggression shortly after.

Further, Rogers heard that the store assistant regularly viewed a poster in the staff room that read, when dealing with aggressive customers: “DO NOT stand in their way, argue with them, take photos, or put yourself in danger.”

Thus, the commissioner ruled that it was “plain on the facts” that the worker’s actions were inconsistent with ALDI’s policies, procedures, and expectations of their employees, and there was a valid reason for the dismissal, as, despite his awareness of these policies, he still engaged in conduct that was a clear breach of those directions.

Upon consideration of all evidence, Rogers scrapped the store assistant’s unfair dismissal application, ruling that the termination was valid.

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Carlos Tse

Carlos Tse is a graduate journalist writing for Accountants Daily, HR Leader, Lawyers Weekly.