diff --git a/tests/fixtures.py b/tests/fixtures.py
index 09cf02e..cdb1822 100644
--- a/tests/fixtures.py
+++ b/tests/fixtures.py
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ import time
 
 from rq import Connection, get_current_job
 from rq.decorators import job
-
+from rq.compat import PY2
 
 def say_pid():
     return os.getpid()
@@ -80,7 +80,10 @@ class CallableObject(object):
 
 class UnicodeStringObject(object):
     def __repr__(self):
-        return u'é'.encode('utf-8')
+        if PY2:
+            return u'é'.encode('utf-8')
+        else:
+            return u'é'
 
 
 with Connection():