Germany: Zalando accused of firing Arab employee for objecting to statements in support of Israel; incl. company response
In March 2025, European Legal Support Center published a press release stating Zalando fired a Lebanese employee, Mohamad S., for objecting to Zalando’s statements in support of Israel. Mohamad S. and the European Legal Support Center accuse Zalando of unlawful termination as well as racist discrimination, bigotry and censorship.
"At some point, I was told by HR, that 'misogyny is part of my culture'."Mohamad S., former Zalando employee
Both the anti-discrimination complaint case and the lawsuit against unfair dismissal were settled in December 2024.
According to the European Legal Support Center, Muslims at Zalando have faced pressure to self-censor their pro-Palestine support on their personal social media accounts and increasingly face challenges in securing reasonable accommodations for their religious practices since October 2023.
"We should understand these in the larger context of economic and political German interests and border regimes. Threats to residency status and/or naturalisation are essential in this context as they are often connected to employment contracts. This leaves many people scared to speak up and can lead to serious consequences for people’s livelihoods whenever they do speak up."European Legal Support Center
In April 2025, the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre invited Zalando to respond to the allegations. Zalando's response can be read in full below.