Chicken Inn Managers Speak Out Against Exploitation and Abuse
More sources have unearthed a cesspool of exploitation and abuse within the fast-food giant Simbisa Brands Limited.
Managers from Chicken Inn have now stepped out of the shadows to expose the darkest secrets lurking behind the golden arches.
Forget the glamorous image of fast-food operation.
These managers are chained to their posts from dawn till dusk, working marathon shifts that stretch into the dead of night.
With only a skeleton crew to bear the burden, they’re forced to juggle cooking, cleaning and cashier duties with no end in sight.
But it’s not just the back-breaking workload that’s driving them to the brink. It’s the relentless onslaught of insults and micromanagement hurled at them by their ruthless overlords.
A slight slip-up is met with a torrent of abuse, warnings and even threats of disciplinary action.
It’s a toxic brew of humiliation and degradation.
“Hi Nyakundi. I work for Simbisa Brands Kenya Ltd as a manager for Chicken Inn. I would like to address the issues concerning the company. As managers, we work for more than 12 hours, starting from 8 a.m. until 9 or 10 p.m. The shops are severely understaffed, with only 2 staff members in the morning—a chef and a cashier. There is an excessive workload for everyone, including cleaning, meal preparation, food dispatch, cooking chicken burgers, and more. This workload is expected of the manager, despite having additional managerial tasks to perform. Moreover, we often receive micro-management tasks with unreasonable deadlines. For instance, we are required to ensure that the shop is operational by 9 a.m. and share photos with the Branch Operations Managers (BOM), who often respond with insults. These insults escalate quickly to warnings, written reports, and disciplinary action by HR, which seems predetermined. The issue of understaffing is evident in my shop, where I only have 4 staff members.
The company experiences a high turnover rate, resulting in meager salaries at the end of the month. The last salary increment was Ksh 1,200 in August 2018, and there have been no increments since then. After deductions, a shop manager earns Ksh 28,000 with transfers depending on the mood of the BOMs. These transfers often seem punitive under the management of ruthless BOMs.
Managers are burdened with compliance service assessments, mystery dinner executions, and other exercises that deny them time off. Public holidays are not exempted, as managers are forced to work around the clock, 24/7. Annual leave is limited to only a week, despite many of us accumulating up to 70 leave days due to the aforementioned exercises.
If my claims are doubted, labor officers should visit the shops to verify the number of public holidays and leave days managers are entitled to. The Employee Self-Service (ESS) system can also provide accurate information at the shop level.
Please conceal my identity.
Regarding Esther Wanjiru from Pizza Inn and Jackline Mwelu Ukungi from Chicken Inn, the latter exhibits tyrannical behavior, treating managers disrespectfully and arrogantly.”
