KFC franchisee given £70k fine over ‘slave’ comment

A KFC franchisee has been hit with a fine of nearly £70,000 after a manager called an Indian employee a “slave” and racially abused him, an employment tribunal has found.

Boss Kajan Theiventhiram made Madhesh Ravichandran work extra hours and called him a “fraud” during his time at the West Wickham branch of the fried chicken chain in south east London, it heard.

Mr Ravichandran was hired by Mr Theiventhiram in January 2023, according to evidence given to the tribunal.

The pair both spoke Tamil, but Mr Ravichandran was from the Tamil Nadu state in India, whereas Mr Theiventhiram was from Sri Lanka, it heard.

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It heard Mr Theiventhiram handed Mr Ravichandran a contract described as a “shambles”, with no opportunity to review his contracted 45 hours per week.

Mr Ravichandran was then frequently scheduled to work in excess of his hours, including nearly 60 hours per week during the majority of March 2023, according to records seen by the tribunal.

He then alleged that when he tried to take holiday, he overheard his boss saying he would prioritise the leave request of Sri Lankan Tamils over his, and that though “this sh**” needs holiday, he would not give leave to “this slave”.

Mr Ravichandran was “upset and humiliated” at being referred to in these terms by his manager, the tribunal found, adding that the refusal of his leave request was “significantly influenced” by his race.

It heard Mr Ravichandran continued to work well in excess of 50 hours per week, taking on an average of 75 hours per week in July 2023 “against his will”, and that Mr Theiventhiram reacted “angrily” and “with threats” to any attempt made to limit his working hours.

The conflict between the two came to a head when Mr Ravichandran handed in his resignation in July 2023 after he was scheduled to work more than 89 hours in one week.

Judge Abbott accepted Mr Ravichandran’s evidence that he was subject to “acts of harassment related to race” carried out by his boss.

“We also accept that Kajan did this with the purpose of violating the claimant’s dignity – he was essentially treating the claimant as “a slave” because of his racial prejudice against Indian Tamils,” he wrote.

The tribunal awarded Mr Ravichandran nearly £70,000 in compensation and recommended Nexus Foods Limited, which operates the branch, implement a training programme for all employees concerning discrimination in the workplace.