What compensation was awarded to a KFC employee who was humiliated by his boss and forced to work overtime

An employee at a KFC branch in London has been awarded compensation after a tribunal found he was harassed and discriminated against by his boss.

KFC Chicken Photo: Shutterstock

A KFC franchisee in south-east London has been ordered to pay around €80,000 after a manager called an Indian employee a “slave” and forced him to work overtime, a court heard.

Madhesh Ravichandran, from the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, started working at the KFC branch in West Wickham in January 2023. Two months later, he was denied annual leave and overheard his boss, Kajan Theiventhiram, telling a colleague that he would give priority to Sri Lankan Tamil employees and referring to him as “this slave”, according to the BBC.

Tribunal judge Paul Abbott found Mr Ravichandran had been unfairly dismissed and had been subjected to direct racial discrimination, harassment and victimisation.

Months later, after hearing the comments, Mr. Ravichandran resigned, but there was no real investigation into his complaints.

He felt “angry and humiliated”, and the refusal of his request for leave was “significantly influenced” of his race, the judge declared.

He was also forced to work overtime because of it “racially prejudiced attitudes” of his manager.

The claimant was awarded €79,500 in damages and the tribunal recommended that Nexus Foods Limited, the company that operates the KFC branch in West W