Fast food chain Nando’s says it has suspended a manager at its Groblersdal store following allegations of alleged sexual misconduct.
This comes after a manager reportedly made advances to an employee at the store.
Allegation
Monene Phoebee (@Monene17263040) took to Twitter to share her ordeal on the social media platform.
The post has since garnered hundreds of comments including an official response from Nando’s South Africa.
“I lost my job because I refused to sleep with my patrao (manager),” tweeted Phoebee.
Nando investigates
In a Twitter thread, Nando’s said it was aware of the claims made by the employee against the manager.
“We are aware of recent social media posts involving staff members from the Groblersdal restaurant.”
“We are deeply concerned by the allegations and take the incident very seriously and have launched a full investigation together with the franchise owner, the parties involved as well as our internal team,” he said.
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Nando’s said it would take “appropriate action once this investigation is complete.”
The manager was suspended
In an update, Nando’s provided feedback after the investigation.
“Following today’s preliminary investigation, we have suspended Manager Groblersdal with immediate effect, pending the outcome of the full investigation,” Nando said.
The reaction
Social media users also spoke about the incident mostly praising the outlet for being tough on the manager.
Sibs Koyana tweeted: “Good action and well defined. Next consider managerial rotation to reduce such,” while Bhut Shweme said that female employees should be interviewed.
“Now it’s easy, call all female employees including those who have recently lost their jobs and interview them.”
However, not everyone agreed with Nando’s decision to suspend the manager.
Mbonanie said there are two sides to the claims.
“How can you suspend a man without investigation, what if the woman is a liar?” he tweeted.
Sexual harassment
Sexual harassment in the workplace is common and increasing, with more than 51 830 sexual offenses committed each year, based on a study by the University of South Africa reports the Center for Violence and Reconciliation.
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