When Lukasz Zawadzki, who admires and likes to impersonate Pop King Michael Jackson, made a high-pitched "hee-hee" at a colleague, getting fired would have been the last thing to have crossed his mind. The man at the receiving end of Zawadzki's scream was a man of colour, who took it as a monkey chant aimed at him with an intention to racially abuse him!
Lukasz Zawadzki was working at a warehouse in Manchester when the incident occurred in 2023. Following the complaint by his fellow warehouse staff, he was fired by the Co-Operative Group that runs the place. They found his action "an alleged breach of the bullying, harassment and discrimination policy, specifically making inappropriate comments to a colleague, causing hurt and distress", Sky News said in a report.
While he admitted making "grunting and moaning" noises in the company of another man working with him, he denied making monkey noises or impersonating the late artist at that time.
However, a Manchester tribunal that heard Zawadzki's plea has now ruled that his action was not racist, although "not appropriate for a workplace". The Co-Operative Group was held responsible for dismissing him unfairly and should pay him over £10,000 in compensation, employment judge Carol Porter ruled.
There was no evidence to state that even if he made a Michael Jackson-like laugh, it was an effort to bully or harass his colleague. Neither had the complainant said that he had ever had to withstand racial comments or bullying at the hands of Zawadzki before. And if he was to be terminated for his juvenile behaviour, the company should have given him at least a warning that such behaviour during working hours was not appreciated, British media reports stated the judge had added.