Woolworths manager is sacked after his messages to colleague were exposed: 'I could no longer tolerate his behaviour towards me'
A senior fruit and vegetable manager at Woolworths, accused of humiliating and pursuing a romantic relationship with a colleague young enough to be his granddaughter, has lost his unfair dismissal claim before the Fair Work Commission.Alexander Pushik, 63, was sacked in May after a 29-year-old colleague complained to the supermarket giant about Facebook messages he sent, including 'I love you' and 'Do you love me'.Niraz Ghimire, a Nepalese student on a visa, said she ignored the private Facebook messages.During Woolworths’ investigation, Mr Pushik said: 'If I had posted it publicly, people may have misinterpreted it. People don't know we're just friends and may think it was something more.'Mr Pushik argued he sent similar messages to friends and relatives all over the world on social media, and that there was no 'sexual content' as the colleague was like a granddaughter to him.After his dismissal, Woolworths found more evidence that Mr Pushik tried to start a romantic relationship with Ghimire.At the office Christmas party in 2024, Ms Ghimire said Mr Pushik stared at her, then rushed up to kiss her cheek, saying: 'You look so beautiful today.'After the party, he allegedly told Ghimire privately she was 'so pretty', 'beautiful' and 'always looking pretty in photos'. Woolworths has been vindicated after they sacked long serving employee Alexander Pushik for his misconduct towards a colleague half his age Deputy President Alex Grayson said Pushik's declarations of love and repeated date requests were 'an expression of his desire for an intimate relationship'He later asked her out for a drink. When she refused, he showed her karaoke videos, saying he had seen she liked it on Facebook.Mr Pushik admitted sending the messages and defended his Christmas party behaviour as 'normal' among colleagues.Under cross-examination, Mr Pushik said he wanted to take Ghimire out for dinner or a show, but she wasn't responsive to 'something deeper'.He said the comments he made about her appearance had no sexual subtext and were either responses to Ms Ghimire's social media content showing her new bags, or to her 'looking very nice.'Mr Pushik acknowledged he had recently completed Woolworths' code of conduct training module, which highlighted that complimenting someone can be sexual harassment even if it's not your intention to offend.But he argued that if a person doesn't say they are offended by a compliment, how could someone know their conduct is unacceptable? He said that if his conduct was unwelcome, then Ms Ghimire could have blocked him.'I insist that in no way and in any of my actions or messages I have violated any of subsections of Woolworths policy on sexual harassment,' he wrote in his dismissal application.'I didn't have any feedback from [Ms Ghimire] on any of the emojis or messages. The Fair Work Commission ruled the man’s repeated compliments, declarations of love and attempts to take the colleague on dates were not innocent and amounted to misconduct, rejecting his bid for reinstatement'If all of my love messages and emojis were taken into account I could be accused of sexual harassment not only of my friends and family members, but of their dogs, cats, ferrets and other pets.'He also submitted that he felt 'betrayed, backstabbed and disgusted' by the victim's failure to address his behaviour with him directly.Ms Ghimire gave evidence his behaviour was 'humiliating' and that he is 'old enough to be my grandfather and as a manager superior to me.''It was an incredibly difficult decision for me to come forward and report Alexander's conduct,' she said.'I was concerned about the potential impact on his employment, but I also felt I could no longer tolerate his behaviour towards me.'As an international student, I was deeply worried about becoming involved in any legal processes, given the challenges of balancing my studies, maintaining my academic performance, and managing the emotional stress of the situation.'Ms Ghimire said his behaviour made her 'feel sick' and caused her 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 said. The 63-year-old sent a a series of ‘I love you’ texts to a 29-year-old colleague 'I didn't feel like I was able to ask him to stop or to block him on Facebook because he was significantly older than me and held a managerial position, which made the situation feel intimidating.'I never saw Alexander acting like this with other colleagues.' Woolworths said one of the most significant factors in its decision to sack Mr Pushik's was his apparent lack of remorse about his conduct.'Woolworths takes sexual harassment very seriously because of the harm it causes our people,' they said. 'He denied that his conduct was inappropriate and instead offered justifications, suggesting that his behaviour was typical and consistent with how he interacted with others.'Fair Work Commission Deputy President Alex Grayson said Mr Pushik's declarations of love and repeated date requests were 'an expression of his desire for an intimate relationship'.'There is a significant difference between loving someone's travel pictures, thanking someone for helping you out in the workplace or placing a thumbs up or a heart on a message and telling someone that they are a beautiful girl, that you love them and asking them on a date,' she said.'Having considered the evidence filed and submissions made by the parties I have determined that Mr Pushik’s dismissal was not harsh, unjust or unreasonable.
