KFC confirms store plucked workers’ feathers over R2 donation

On Wednesday, an anonymous employee shared a warning letter after staff was warned of dismissals for continuously failing to ask customers to make R2 donations

 

After denying the allegations, the fast-food chain released a media statement to Sunday World, admitting that it was aware of the incident.

The restaurant also stated that it has launched an investigation into the matter.

 

“As soon as we became aware of the allegations, we prioritised an investigation into the validity of the ‘warning letter’,” said KFC in a statement.

 

“Unfortunately, this morning, we confirmed the allegations proved to be true.

 

“As a franchised business, we implement systems and processes to deal with incidents that do not align with our ethos and values and have already taken immediate action to address this incident, specifically, with the partner in question.

 

“We are also reminding our teams that a whistleblower line exists to report matters such as this.”

 

The restaurant added that the incident goes against the values and ethos of Add Hope, which the company has worked hard to build over the last 15 years. 

 

“Add Hope donations have and always will be completely voluntary. We chase hope, not targets, and thus Add Hope performance-based KPI’s should never be set for anyone,” KFC said.

KFC is one of a few restaurants that encourage customers to donate R2 towards the company’s Add Hope Foundation, which supports underprivileged children.

 

After every purchase at the store, before collecting payment, KFC employees ask customers to add an extra R2 to their bills as donations to this course.

 

However, the initiative faced backlash on Wednesday when an employee alleged that workers were made to sign a warning letter for failing to meet targets. 

 

In the letter, it appears that the employee only managed to raise R12 in donations while the store made more than R7 500 in sales. 

 

The letter reads: “This warning should be regarded as very serious, and if you continue this unacceptable conduct, it would lead to more serious action taken against you.”