File photo of a KFC outlet
An Indian national is set to receive nearly £70,000 in compensation for wrongful dismissal and being subjected to racial discrimination, after a tribunal ruled in his favour against his manager at the KFC outlet in London where he was previously employed.Madhesh Ravichandran, from Tamil Nadu, told the employment tribunal that his Sri Lankan manager discriminated against him, using a derogatory term such as “slave.”In a hearing earlier this week, judge Paul Abbott described Ravichandran’s claim as “well-founded.”“We have found on the facts that the claimant was subjected to less favourable treatment… his holiday request was refused because he was Indian, while (manager) Kajan prioritised requests from Sri Lankan Tamil colleagues, and he was referred to as a ‘slave,’ which is self-evidently less favourable treatment because of his race,” Abbott wrote in his judgment.The caseRavichandran joined KFC’s West Wickham outlet in January 2023 after interviewing with his direct supervisor, Kajan. Problems, however, began soon after he started.The situation escalated in July when Kajan tried to make Ravichandran work excessive hours, prompting him to resign. The judge accepted that his decision to leave was a direct result of the manager’s “persistent efforts” to make him work “excessive hours.” During follow-up calls, Kajan reportedly became “racially abusive and threatening” toward Ravichandran.“This racial abuse from a manager had the purpose and effect of violating the claimant’s dignity. He was ‘summarily dismissed’ while serving out his notice and was denied his statutory right to one week’s notice,” the tribunal’s judgment read.“The respondent did not show that the claimant had done anything to entitle it to dismiss him without notice. The claimant was, therefore, wrongfully dismissed and is entitled to be paid one week’s pay in lieu of notice,” it stated.Ravichandran was awarded £62,690 in compensation, with additional payments for holiday pay and employment-related particulars bringing the total to around £66,800 (approx. Rs 81 lakh).The tribunal also directed Nexus Foods Limited, which operates the West Wickham KFC outlet, to implement a training programme on workplace discrimination for all employees. The programme should include training for managers on the “appropriate handling” of such grievances and must be completed within six months of the judgment.(With PTI inputs)