Supermarket Manager Sacked After Inappropriate Messages
A senior fruit and vegetable manager at Woolworths has lost his unfair dismissal claim after being sacked for pursuing a romantic relationship with a colleague young enough to be his granddaughter. Alexander Pushik, 63, was dismissed in May after a 29-year-old colleague, Niraz Ghimire, complained about a series of private Facebook messages he sent her, which included declarations of 'I love you' and 'Do you love me?'.
Ms Ghimire, a Nepalese student on a visa, stated that she ignored these private messages. During Woolworths’ internal investigation, Mr Pushik defended his actions, claiming that if he had posted the messages publicly, people might have misinterpreted them. He argued that he sent similar messages to friends and relatives worldwide and insisted there was no 'sexual content' as he viewed the colleague as a granddaughter.
Commission Rules Against 'Innocent' Claims
Following his dismissal, Woolworths uncovered further evidence of Mr Pushik's attempts to initiate a romantic relationship. This included an incident at the office Christmas party where Ms Ghimire alleged he stared at her, rushed up to kiss her cheek, and told her, 'You look so beautiful today'. After the party, he reportedly told her privately that she was 'so pretty', 'beautiful', and 'always looking pretty in photos'.
Mr Pushik later asked her out for a drink. When she refused, he showed her karaoke videos, noting he had seen she liked it on Facebook. He admitted to sending the messages and defended his Christmas party behaviour as 'normal' among colleagues.
Colleague's 'Humiliating' Ordeal Revealed
In her evidence, Ms Ghimire described his behaviour as 'humiliating', noting he was 'old enough to be my grandfather and as a manager superior to me'. She said the situation caused her significant distress, leading to anxiety, sleep disturbances, and weight loss. 'Knowing that he would sometimes message me on Facebook at 2am or 4am made me feel extremely uncomfortable,' she stated.
She explained that she felt unable to ask him to stop or block him due to his age and managerial position, which made the situation intimidating. Woolworths cited his apparent lack of remorse as a significant factor in the decision to dismiss him.
Fair Work Commission Deputy President Alex Grayson dismissed Mr Pushik's claim, ruling that his declarations of love and repeated date requests were 'an expression of his desire for an intimate relationship' and not innocent as he claimed. The Commission found the dismissal was not harsh, unjust, or unreasonable.
