KFC franchisee hit with £70k fine over ‘slave’ comment
A KFC franchise owner was fined nearly £70,000 after a manager called an Indian employee a “slave” and racially abused him, an employment tribunal has heard.
Boss Kajan Theiventhiram is heard making Madhesh Ravichandran work extra hours during his time working at the West Wickham branch of the fried chicken chain in south-east London and calling him a “cheater”.
According to evidence presented to the court, Mr Ravichandran was employed by Mr Theiventhiram in January 2023.
The duo were both speaking in Tamil, but Mr Ravichandran was heard to be from the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, while Mr Theiventhiram was from Sri Lanka.
It heard that Mr Theiventhiram gave Mr Ravichandran a contract described as a “mess” without the opportunity to review his 45-hour-a-week contract.
Mr Ravichandran was then frequently scheduled to work hours in excess of his regular hours, including about 60 hours a week for much of March 2023, according to records seen by the court.
He later claimed that when he tried to take a holiday, he heard his boss say that he would prioritize the Sri Lankan Tamils’ request for leave over his own, and that although “this scum” needed a holiday, he would not give “this slave” time off.
The tribunal found that Mr Ravichandran was “distressed and humiliated” at being referred to in this way by his manager, adding that the refusal of his leave request was “significantly affected” by his race.
The court heard that Mr Ravichandran continued to work more than 50 hours a week, working an average of 75 hours a week “against his will” in July 2023, and that Mr Theiventhiram reacted “angrily” and with “threats” to any attempt 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 being scheduled to work more than 89 hours in a week.
Judge Abbott accepted Mr Ravichandran’s evidence that he had been subjected to “acts of racial harassment” by his boss.
“We also accept that Kajan did this with the intention of violating the plaintiff’s dignity; in fact, he was treating the plaintiff as a ‘slave’ because of his racial prejudice against Indian Tamils,” he wrote.
The court awarded Mr Ravichandran nearly £70,000 in damages and recommended that Nexus Foods Limited, which runs the branch, implement a training program for all employees on discrimination in the workplace.
