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one KFC Franchise fined nearly £70,000 after manager called Indian staff a “slave” and subjected him to racial abuse employment tribunal Already found.
Boss Kajan Theiventhiram made Madhesh Ravichandran work overtime and called him a “liar” while working at the West Wickham branch of the south-east fried chicken chain Londonit heard.
According to evidence given to the court, Mr Ravichandran was hired by Mr Theiventhiram in January 2023.
Both speak Tamil but Mr. Ravichandran is from Tamil. tamil nadu State of India, while Mr Theiventhiram is from Sri Lankait heard.
It is alleged that Mr Theiventhiram was given a contract described as “chaotic” to Mr Ravichandran and was given no opportunity to review his 45-hour-a-week contract.
Mr Ravichandran was then regularly scheduled to work overtime, including nearly 60 hours a week for much of March 2023, according to records seen by the court.
He then claimed that when he attempted to take leave, he overheard his boss saying that he would prioritize the leave requests of Sri Lankan Tamils over his and that although “this bastard” needed the leave, he would not give it to “this slave”.
The tribunal found that Mr Ravichandran was “upset and humiliated” by his manager referring to him in those terms, adding that the rejection of his request for leave was “significantly influenced” by his race.
It is understood Mr Ravichandran was working more than 50 hours a week, working an average of 75 hours a week “against his will” in July 2023, and Mr Theiventhiram reacted “angry” and “threateningly” to any attempts to limit his working hours.
The conflict between the two men came to a head in July 2023 when Mr Ravichandran tendered his resignation for working more than 89 hours a week.
Judge Abbott accepted Mr Ravichandran’s evidence that he had been subjected to “race-related harassment” by his bosses.
“We also acknowledge that Kayan’s intent in doing so was to violate the plaintiff’s dignity—that he essentially treated the plaintiff as a ‘slave’ because of her racial prejudice against Indian Tamils,” he wrote.
The tribunal awarded Mr Ravichandran nearly £70,000 in compensation and recommended that Nexus Foods Limited, which runs the branch, implement a training program for all employees on workplace discrimination.