Image copyright Downfall Image caption The meme used the dramatic scene from the film 'Downfall'
A BP refinery worker in Australia who was sacked for parodying the company via a well-known Hitler meme has been awarded a $200,000 (£109,000) payout.
Scott Tracey used the popular meme, from 2004 film Downfall, to portray scenes from company wage negotiations, posting it on a closed Facebook group.
He was sacked by the company. However, after a two-year legal battle, he won an unfair dismissal case and returned to work.
The payout covers lost earnings
The meme uses a dramatic scene in Downfall - in which Hitler angrily confronts his generals in his bunker - and replaces the subtitles with alternative dialogue as a joke.
BP had said it was "highly offensive and inappropriate" and dismissed Mr Tracey. The refinery worker first took his case to a tribunal, arguing unfair dismissal, but lost.
Mr Tracey then appealed, insisting he had not intended to offend anyone and that the video was meant to be humorous. He added that it did not identify BP or anyone specifically.
The federal court ruled it was unreasonable to say the meme had likened BP managers to Nazis and Mr Tracey was allowed to return to work.
On Monday, he was awarded $177,325 in wages and lost bonuses, minus tax, and also $24,070 in superannuation or pension payments.
BP had argued that Mr Tracey should be paid $150,000, less than what he would have earned if he had not been dismissed.
The company wanted money to be deducted because the video was shared among colleagues, which BP said was misconduct, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.
BP also said more money should be deducted as Mr Tracey could have found work during the trial.
The Fair Work Commission said there was no evidence to argue that Mr Tracey had not searched for employment.
Brad Gandy, secretary at Australian Workers Union, said that Mr Tracey had been through "unnecessary drama".
"To dig in and drag an honest worker through nearly two years of stress and uncertainty, all because a few stuffed shirts didn't get a joke, is poor corporate behaviour," Mr Gandy told the Sydney Morning Herald.
Der wegen eines Hitler-Memes im Jahr 2018 entlassene Mitarbeiter einer australischen BP-Mineralölraffinerie, Scott Tracey, bekam am vergangenen Montag eine Schadensersatzsumme von 200.000 AU$ (ca. 121.000 €) zugesprochen.

Tracey hatte eine Szene aus dem Film „Der Untergang“ mit satirischen Untertiteln über Gehaltsverhandlungen versehen und in einer geschlossenen Facebook-Gruppe veröffentlicht. BP warf ihm daraufhin vor, das Management mit Nationalsozialisten zu vergleichen. 

Nach einem zweijährigen Rechtsstreit, den Tracey in erster Instanz verlor, entschied die „Fair Work Commission“, dass die Kündigung gegen den Mitarbeiter unwirksam ist.

Nach Abzug der australischen Steuern und der Sozialbeiträge erhielt Scott Tracey einen Betrag von 177.325 AU$ (ca. 107.000 €). BP hatte eine Reduzierung des Betrags auf 150.000 AU$ gefordert, weil Tracey das entsprechende Video an verschiedene Kollegen weitergeleitet hatte.

Der Sekretär der Australian Workers’ Union Brad Gandy, der für das Gebiet Westaustraliens zuständig ist und Tracey in dem Fall vertreten hatte, sagte, die Gewerkschaft sei mit der Entscheidung zufrieden.