A former Lidl manager in Spain is suing the supermarket chain after they sacked him for working too hard.

The employee, named only as Jean P in Spanish media, would regularly arrive at his branch hours before it opened, spending the time shelf-stacking, price-checking and preparing the store for when his staff arrived.

However, he was dismissed for breaching Lidl’s rules on unpaid overtime, and for being in the store alone – a further breach of company rules.

At an employment tribunal, a lawyer for Jean P argued that Lidl benefited from the rule breach, and that his client had never been instructed by the company not to come in early. Juan Guerra also claimed his client was under pressure to hit sales and performance targets, work that required “time and dedication”.

The case continues.