Paralympian who was asked to move her guide dog away from food in Lidl awarded €2k

German supermarket group, Lidl, has been ordered to pay €2,000 to a blind Irish Paralympian after she was asked to move away from a bakery section in one of its stores because of her guide dog.

The Workplace Relations Commission ruled that Lidl Ireland has discriminated against Nadine Lattimore on grounds of disability over the incident which occurred on February 14th, 2024.

While the company accepted that there had been shortcomings in how Ms Lattimore was dealt with in the store, it argued that a prima facie case of discrimination had not been made out by the complainant.

Counsel for Lidl, Lorna Madden BL, pointed out that the customer had not been refused service and that assistance had been offered to her before she had been asked to move away from the bakery section.

Ms Madden said Lild rejected the suggestion that it had failed to provide reasonable accommodation to Ms Lattimore in accordance with the Equal Status Act 2000.

In evidence, Ms Lattimore said she had attended the store for many years and was with her clearly identifiable guide dog who was assisting her around the supermarket.

Ms Lattimore said she believed she was discriminated against as she never had a problem in the store during previous visits when she had used her cane when she was without her guide dog.

She gave evidence that the shop assistant told her that she was concerned about the dog interfering with or licking the food.

Ms Lattimore, who competed in track and field events for Ireland in the Paralympics in London in 2012, said she walked away as she felt “humiliated, frustrated and upset.”

As she was moving away, she could hear what had happened being discussed with someone referring to her as the person who had previously attended the store