Popular fast-food restaurant KFC has denied putting employees in the firing line for failing to ask for R2 donations from customers.
This comes after an anonymous employee shared a warning letter where the employee was warned that they would be fired for continuously failing to ask for R2 donations.
KFC is one of a few restaurants that encourage customers to donate R2 towards its Add Hope Foundation, which supports underprivileged children across the country.
After every purchase at the store, before collecting payment, KFC employees ask customers to add an extra R2 to their bills as donations to the charitable cause.
Warning letter
However, the initiative faced backlash on Wednesday after a warning letter surfaced from an employee who alleged that they 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 company made more than R7 500 in sales.
“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,” reads the letter.
The supervisor also made note that it is placed on record that the employee understands what they are receiving the warning letter for and that the letter will also be permanently stored in the employee’s records.
It is not yet clear in which store the employee is based or when the written warning was given to staff.
KFC clears the air
After receiving backlash from social media users who pointed out that the restaurant was going against labour laws, the company took to its social media page to clarify.
“Add Hope makes a collective effort to uplift our communities and make a meaningful difference, serving more than 30-million meals to kids in need every year,” KFC said in a statement.
“While our team members are encouraged to be advocates of Add Hope, we firmly oppose the use of the Add Hope programme as a performance measure.
“Such actions contradict the ethos of Add Hope.”
