Aldi is aiming to improve the shopping experience of people with hidden disabilities, having trained staff to recognise the sunflower lanyard worn to indicate additional assistance may be required.
The Hidden Disabilities Sunflower lanyard is a globally recognised symbol used to discreetly indicate the wear has a non-visible disability.
Aldi said staff at its 970-plus stores had undergone training around hidden disabilities and the Sunflower symbol, so they could offer additional assistance to people with hidden disabilities such as autism, chronic pain, mental health conditions and mobility or speech impairments.
All staff across other area of the business had had also completed the training, and could wear the Sunflower badge themselves to indicate to others they too may need extra support, Aldi added.
The discounter’s stores have also been added to the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower store finder, to highlight their location and recognition of the symbol to people with hidden disabilities.
“We are committed to ensuring Aldi is as accessible and inclusive as possible – both to shop and work, which is why we are delighted to be able to further assist our customers and colleagues through our support of the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower,” said Aldi UK diversity and inclusion director Richard Shuttleworth.
Hidden Disabilities Sunflower CEO Paul White said: “We are delighted that Aldi has joined the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower network. Grocery shopping is a basic requirement but can be challenging for a variety of reasons for people with non-visible disabilities.
“With such a large number of stores in the UK it means that millions of Aldi customers that choose to wear the Sunflower will feel confident that they will be offered help, understanding or just more time should they need it.”
A number of other supermarkets, including Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Asda, have also taken steps to support Sunflower symbol wearers.
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