A CO-OP worker was sacked for making Michael Jackson’s ‘hee-hee’ noises at a colleague, a tribunal heard.
Lukasz Zawadzki ended up in hot water over accusations he impersonated the late King of Pop to mock a co-worker.
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He was dismissed for “bullying” after allegedly making high-pitched ‘hee-hee’ noises made famous by the Man in the Mirror singer.
But, he has now won more than £10,600 after an employment tribunal ruled that his dismissal was unfair.
Manchester Employment Tribunal heard Mr Zawadzki was hired by the Co-op as a warehouse worker in December 2015.
He was reported by a colleague in December 2023, who accused him of making monkey noises and raising his voice in a high-pitched tone.
Zawadzki was also said to have made a “stupid orgasm noise”, which annoyed his colleagues.
The warehouse operative was later suspended, but denied making any monkey noises or impersonating Jackson.
He did agree that he made “orgasmic” sounding noises that were not appropriate for the workplace.
However, he claimed the colleague who complained did not give any sign they were upset, despite working together for 18 months.
In the hearing, he accepted that it was “inappropriate” and “juvenile” to make the noise in the workplace.
But Mr Zawadzki said he did not think it was racist, and explained he only joked around in the office to make people laugh.
But in March last year, he was sacked by the Co-op.
His dismissal letter stated that “an independent witness confirmed hearing in their words ‘a sort of hee-hee noise'”.
He appealed to the general manager a month later, arguing the decision had been made before he could put his case forward.
The tribunal heard he banged his fist on the table in anger before leaving the meeting.
But, because he had not been warned about his conduct and no one had previously said they were offended, his dismissal was ruled unfair.
Finding in his favour, employment Judge Carol Porter ruled the dismissal was not a “reasonable response”.
Judge Porter said: “The dismissing officer made it very clear in his evidence that the reason for dismissal was that [Mr Zawadzki] had admitted making noises in the workplace which were embarrassing.
“[Mr Zawadzki] accepted were inappropriate and juvenile and that a work colleague had been offended by those noises.
“There was no satisfactory evidence before the dismissing officer that [Mr Zawadzki] had, by making those noises, engaged in bullying or harassment.
“He had been engaging in this type of juvenile behaviour for some time and had not received any warnings that such behaviour was unacceptable and could lead to disciplinary action including dismissal.
“Dismissal did not fall within the band of reasonable responses.”
As a result, the Co-op were ordered to pay him £10,611 in compensation.
That figure had been halved after the tribunal found that his workplace manner had been unprofessional.
Earlier this year, a social media creator won a £22,000 payout after she was sacked for making typos and not posting for a month.
Anita Briggs produced digital content for the National Museums of Scotland for 16 years before she was “unfairly dismissed”.
However, the employment tribunal found Anita had not been given enough warning and awarded her £22,210 in compensation.
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