An Indian national who took legal action against his manager for racial abuse at a KFC outlet in south-east London raised almost £67,000 (trans ₹81 million). He claimed he was unfairly fired and mistreated because of his race, the news agency reported PTI.
The victim, identified as Madhesh Ravichandran, who is originally from the state of Tamil Nadu, told the labor tribunal that his boss, a Sri Lankan Tamil named Kajan, mistreated him. He said the manager called him a “slave” and made offensive remarks such as “Indians are crooks” during the conversation with him.
In an official order published this week, Judge Paul Abbott upheld Mr Ravichandran’s claim and ruled that Nexus Foods Limited was guilty racial discrimination and wrongful dismissal.
“Complaints of direct racial discrimination are well-founded and successful,” the judgment reads.
“On the facts, we found that the complainant was subjected to less favorable treatment … his request for leave was refused because he was Indian and (restaurant manager) Kajan wished to prioritize requests from his Sri Lankan Tamil colleagues and was referred to as a ‘shit’ and a ‘slave’ who is clearly treated less favorably because of his race,” it said.
Mr Ravichandran started working at West Wickham KFC in January 2023. He was hired after an interview with Kajan, who became his direct supervisor. Things got worse over the course of several months until they reached a tipping point in July of that year. At the time, his boss tried to force him to work too many hours during his shift, which led Mr. Ravichandran to resign.
Harassment in the workplace
The judge said he believed the evidence showed Mr Ravichandran decided to quit because Kajan kept trying to make him work “excessive hours”. During later phone conversations, Kajan allegedly became “racially abusive and threatening” toward the employee.
“We find that this racial abuse by the manager had the purpose and effect of violating the plaintiff’s dignity,” the judgment reads.
The court ruled that Mr. Ravichandran was “summarily dismissed,” meaning he was fired immediately while still working during his notice period. In doing so, the company broke the law by not giving him the week’s notice to which he was legally entitled.
“The respondent has not alleged that the claimant did anything that would have entitled him to dismiss the claimant without notice. The claimant was therefore wrongfully dismissed and is entitled to be paid a week’s wages in lieu of notice,” he said.
Compensation
Following hearings held in September, the tribunal ordered Mr Ravichandran to make the following payments – a principal payment of £62,690 as compensation for discrimination and loss of employment. Extra money for unused vacation and other work-related details. This brought the final total to around £66,800.
