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Everyone different, everyone welcome

At Aldi, we’re proud of the positive impact we have made since we opened our first Irish store over 20 years ago. We have lowered the cost of groceries for our customers, created thousands of jobs, supported Irish suppliers and invested in local communities.

Aldi is a company built on merit and opportunity. Our growth means that we can provide career opportunities for everyone, whatever their background and wherever they work in our business. We recognise the importance of diversity and inclusion and understand that Aldi needs to better reflect all of the communities we serve, as well as providing more support to minority and under-represented groups.

Aldi is a diverse, inclusive and supportive place to work for everyone and to that end making positive changes to the way we attract, recruit and support our people.

In 2021, we launched our Embrace Strategy to help us on our journey. Embrace is built on five strategic pillars:

1. Employee Engagement and Support

2. Employee Insights and Data

3. Partnerships and External Engagement

4. Employer Branding (Attraction and Selection)

5. Learning, Development and Awareness Raising

Our current initiatives/ partnerships

Here are some of the actions we are already taking to create an inclusive workplace:

Holding on tight to D&I

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Diversity strengthens us

Diversity and inclusion has never been more important to Aldi. So we’ve been taking the time to understand how Aldi can make positive changes from within to ensure we reflect the communities we serve. To demonstrate our commitment, we want to formally introduce our strategy, Embrace.

Embrace means creating positive change from the inside out so that Aldi lives diversity and inclusion. There are five key pillars to our strategy, which are; Employee Engagement and Support, Employee Insights and Data, Partnerships and External Engagement, Employer Branding (Attraction and Selection) as well as Learning, Development and Awareness Raising.

But we didn’t do it alone, #TeamAldi has contributed in many different ways and continues to contribute. Some have offered their time, whilst others have shared their thoughts and opinions to help us progress our journey. We’re working towards making the workplace more inclusive and diverse for our people, all while supporting our communities. We’re at the beginning of our journey and we’re excited to continue our work, ensuring our culture is inclusive and respectful for all.

Listening to #TeamAldi

When you listen, you learn. One of our Embrace pillars is ‘Employee Insights and Data’. It outlines what we’ve planned to make sure our work environments are inclusive and respectful.

That’s why, in 2021, we established confidential groups where #TeamAldi shared their lived experiences. The groups help us to learn more about colleagues’ perceptions, views and challenges. Hearing their stories directly means we have a better understanding of the positive changes we can make to ensure Aldi lives diversity and inclusion.

As well as groups, in 2021 we launched an Embrace survey for the whole of #TeamAldi. We set out to find out if people feel they can be themselves at work and that they're being treated equally. This survey has provided us with great insights and we're learning all the time. 

Working together to make our workplace diverse and inclusive

One of the great things about inclusion is that nobody feels they have to go it alone. So, as part of our ‘Partnerships and External Engagement’ pillar, we’ve been looking outside for partnerships and schemes that can help us make Embrace work. We are committed to learning from other businesses to make sure we’re taking the right steps for our colleagues.

  • In 2020, we appointed diversity and inclusion specialist Green Park to advise our team on the best approach for Aldi.
  • In 2021, we signed the UN Women’s Empowerment Principles to drive gender equality across our business, suppliers and the wider community.
  • In 2021, we signed the Business in the Community Ireland ‘Elevate Pledge’.
  • In 2021, we partnered with Open Doors to support employment opportunities for marginalised members of our society.

We also work with the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower Scheme to inform how we can better support our colleagues and customers with different abilities in the future.

Finding and developing talent

In an inclusive environment, there’s space for great people to do great things. And building an equitable process helps us attract those people wherever they are.

As part of our ‘Learning, Development and Awareness Raising’ pillar, we’ve removed  educational barriers to internal promotion, so that high performing colleagues can go onwards and upwards.

Training helps talent stay informed and relevant, and we love helping make that happen. In 2021 we offered a Diversity and Inclusion E-module and this year we’re adding a Disability Awareness module. In addition, we’re providing diversity and inclusion training for Executive Managers and above, so that they can understand what it means for them and their teams.

Another key pillar is ‘Employer Branding (Attraction and Selection)’. We've reviewed our selection processes, ensuring equal opportunities are offered throughout.

Always there for #TeamAldi

We want to make Diversity & Inclusion an everyday reality for everyone, in every single part of the business. That means finding ways to support #TeamAldi, and encouraging our people to support each other.

We’re all here together, and we’re all keen to make D&I work for our business and communities. And we’ll look after each other while we make sure that happens.

What diversity means to us

Aldi is an equal opportunities employer. We’re committed to creating a diverse workforce. And we’re dedicated to promoting a culture of inclusion, and providing an environment in which collaboration, respect and fairness are essential.

We do not tolerate discrimination or harassment of any colleague or job applicant regardless of gender, civil status, family status, sexual orientation, religion, age, disability, race or membership of the Traveller community. It means that Aldi offers equal treatment and equal opportunities to all employees and job applicants.

To view our full Equal Opportunities statement, please click here.

Mental health support

We all have mental health, just like we all have physical health. With one in four people experiencing a mental health issue at some stage during their lives, many of us at #TeamAldi are likely to be impacted at some point by mental health issues. Our people are central to our ethos at Aldi; that’s why we’re sharing our commitment to continue to invest in improving how we look after colleagues’ mental health.

We’re proud of our wellbeing provision, which supports colleagues across five key areas of ‘MyWellness’ – one of which is mental health. Our mental health strategy is underpinned by three layers of support for #TeamAldi:

 

The MyALDI App

We want to give our people the very best support – no matter where they are. We created the MyALDI app for all our colleagues, giving everyone access to the same platform as soon as they join Team Aldi. 

MyALDI is a place for colleagues to share their stories and recognise one another for the amazing work they do. It highlights business news, upcoming charity events and provides access to pay slips as well as information about benefits.

Plus, there’s information and contact details for all of our professional partners who are specialists in our five key areas of wellness: mental, nutritional, financial, physical and social. For each area of Wellness, we regularly post useful links, articles and advice which is then available to all of our colleagues, 24 hours a day.

           

Empowering you from day one

You’ll get more than amazing benefits and development when you join #TeamAldi. And you’ll get more than great support during the recruitment process. Here are some handy hints and tips to help you in the first steps of your application.