A KFC franchisee in south-east London has been ordered to pay nearly £70,000 following an incident where a manager referred to an Indian employee as a “slave” and compelled him to work overtime, as reported by a tribunal.

Madhesh Ravichandran, originally from Tamil Nadu in India, commenced his employment at the West Wickham KFC location in January 2023.

Two months later, he was denied annual leave and overheard his manager, Kajan Theiventhiram, stating to another employee that he would give preference to Sri Lankan Tamil staff, while derogatorily labeling Mr. Ravichandran as “this slave,” according to tribunal findings.

Judge Paul Abbott ruled that Mr. Ravichandran had been wrongfully dismissed and had experienced direct racial discrimination, racial harassment, and victimization.

After hearing these comments, Mr. Ravichandran decided to resign, but the tribunal determined that proper investigation into his claims was not conducted.

The judge noted that Mr. Ravichandran felt “upset and humiliated,” and emphasized that his leave denial was “significantly influenced” by his race.

Judge Abbott acknowledged the claimant’s testimony that he was subjected to excessive working hours due to Mr. Theiventhiram’s “racially prejudiced attitude” towards him.

In the end, Mr. Ravichandran was awarded £66,800 in damages, and the tribunal advised Nexus Foods Limited, which manages the West Wickham KFC, to implement a training program addressing workplace discrimination for all staff members.