A recent report, based on the anonymous statements of former Nando’s employees, appears to show that staff are often not paid for overtime, usually after the restaurant is closed, when most cleaning is done. Ex-employees have told similar stories that their hours are recorded as “finished” when the manager “signs off” the restaurant for the day, but they are made to stay on to conclude cleaning. Additional hours are required to be added manually by the manager for this after-hours cleaning, it being routine that Nando’s do not employ dedicated cleaners. Hours are often not added on and staff report having to “pester” to have their additional time included. One employee stated that when questioned about being paid for the extra hours, their manager reported that they should “work faster”. 

 

This lack of interest in the wellbeing of staff and paying them properly is passed on in the care, or lack of, towards diners. Numerous employees reported that whilst the in-house cleaning protocols dictated that colour coded mops and buckets were used for different areas of the restaurant, with specific ones being used for toilets, kitchen and other areas, time pressures (and a lack of being paid for their time) often led to employees simply using one mop or bucket for cleaning kitchens, toilets and the restaurant areas, giving a high chance of cross contamination.  

 

Other employees reported a lack of gloves and hairnets for days or weeks at a time, meaning the food, both raw and cooked, was prepared without proper protection, and employees were equally unprotected for high-risk tasks such as cleaning toilets. Understandably, this might put people off eating at a Nando’s restaurant, this being the last thing you want to know before enjoying your dinner.