A union has demanded that the fast-food franchise stop degrading its staff after the incident involving the R2 Add Hope targets, a customer-based donation that goes to nonprofits.

A written warning was recently circulated on social media showing a KFC South Africa employee receiving a warning for failing to "meet the Add Hope target".

KFC South Africa investigated and found the franchise owner carried out the disciplinary action. They stated on social media that they "firmly oppose the use of the Add Hope programme as a performance measure".

"All of our franchise partners and staff have been reminded and we will continue to reinforce this message throughout our system through consistent communication and staff training," KFC South Africa told Daily Maverick.

Worker and union perspectives

Daily Maverick interviewed a former KFC employee, a 36-year-old man who worked at an East London branch for six years. He said there was pressure from management to convince customers to add R2 to their bills.

"Written warnings were only given if your till came up short often, but they would give verbal warnings if you missed the target to add R2 for Hope donations," he explained. He said if you struggled to convince customers to donate within a month at the cash register you would be transferred to another duty,...