30 war refugees from Ukraine start work at Lidl supermarkets in Estonia

TALLINN - 30 war refugees from Ukraine have begun work at Lidl Estonia's supermarkets in Tallinn this month. 

Job interviews are being held with 20 more people who will join Lidl teams in Tallinn and other cities, the company said.

"The first war refugees started work at Lidl stores at the beginning of April. Their motivation and readiness to learn quickly despite the language barrier deserves the greatest recognition. We're also proud of our team for supporting their new colleagues in every way possible and offering a safe work environment to everyone who comes to work at our stores," head of human resources at Lidl Estonia Liina Kippasto said.

The new Ukrainian employees' tasks are the same as those of other employees but during the adjustment period, they do not involve direct contact with customers due to the new employees' insufficient Estonian language skills.  

"As the working hours and tasks overlap, the salary and other benefits are also the same as those for our other employees. The equal treatment of our workers is a matter of principle for us. Our recruitment process continues and soon we'll also be able to offer work to people coming from Ukraine at our stores in Tartu, Parnu and Narva," Kippasto said. She added that the company in cooperation with the state also wants to support their new employees' Estonian language studies. 

The new workers are able to receive help from their support person who helps them adapt with their environment and resolve issues stemming from a language barrier, for example. All regional managers of Lidl have received instructions on how to successfully include war refugees joining their teams. 

Lidl is represented in 32 countries and manages 11,550 supermarkets and over 200 logistics centers in 30 countries. The company employs over 341,000 people.