The heartbroken family of a KFC worker who suffered an overdose after allegedly being harassed at work said today that they will take her off life support on Monday.
Emma Price’s family say the 32-year-old overdosed on painkillers and complained twice to managers that she was being treated unfairly.
The KFC team leader is currently in an induced coma and doctors told her family on Thursday that she is brain dead.
Her family, from Basildon, Essex, have said they are “devastated” to learn Ms Price will not recover.
They have made the difficult decision to take him off life support on July 22, that is, in three days.
KFC team leader Emma Price (pictured) is currently in an induced coma after overdosing on painkillers.
Before she overdosed, Ms Price had told her family she was working too hard while other staff members were doing nothing and that she caught them talking about her behind her back.
The young woman was told she was “causing trouble” and regularly came home crying due to the stress of being overworked.
Her family said today: ‘We are devastated, the house is very quiet without her.
‘She is our angel and now she will become a real angel.
“We’re going to take him off life support on Monday because the doctor said he’s brain dead; he’s too damaged.”
Emma, described by her parents as a “good-natured and cheerful person”, had been working at KFC for eight years when she was subjected to the alleged harassment which began in the second half of 2023.
Her mother, Samantha Day, 56, said: “Why didn’t they listen to her? They ignored her and told her she was causing a problem.”
‘She was trying to tell them that something was wrong, but she couldn’t stand it anymore.
“I’m angry, I want to rant at them, but I can’t. It’s not fair. She doesn’t deserve this at all.
“I don’t know what went through his head. I don’t know what happened that morning.”
Emma’s family, from Basildon, Essex, have now decided to put her on life support. Emma is pictured working at KFC as a team leader.
Mrs Day said: ‘David made her a delicious salad and she was so pleased with it she took a photo and posted it on Facebook.
‘There were no warning signs, nothing. He told me he wasn’t feeling very well and I told him to go to bed early because he hadn’t slept well for months.
‘He got up at 7am on Thursday, let his dog out and went straight back to bed.
“We thought she was just tired from being overworked.”
Mr Price, a carer, spoke of his terrifying experience of finding his daughter in her bed.
He said: ‘I went up to wake her at 2pm; she was unresponsive in her bed.
‘Her brother had to perform CPR on her – she wasn’t breathing very well and we called an ambulance.
‘The doctor came from an air ambulance and told us that his pupils were fixed and unresponsive.
“They took her away and we were monitoring her, she was under ventilation the whole time.”
She was rushed to Basildon Hospital, where her family visited her every day.
Animal lover and homebody Emma contacted mental health charity MIND and was due to have her first appointment with them on 15 July.
She had no previous mental health issues and the day before her overdose, she arrived home with her parents and seemed “fine.”
Animal lover and homebody Emma (pictured) contacted mental health charity MIND and was due to have her first appointment with them on Monday 15 July.
Ms Day said the alleged harassment of Ms Price began to escalate around Christmas time last year.
She: “It was just after Christmas when she told her bosses that she was being harassed. They said, ‘No, you’re not, you’re just causing trouble.’”
She said people would talk about her behind her back, and when she told them she could hear them, they would say, ‘Yeah, so what?’
‘She was very busy working on three different parts of the job at once while everyone else stood there watching her. It was as if to say, “Emma is complaining again, she always complains.”
‘She would come home crying and we would tell her she needed to find another job. It was not a nice environment for her to work in.’
Emma’s parents noticed a significant change in her since Christmas, noticing that she was staying in her room much more and sleeping all day before her shifts.
Ms Day added: “She was a bit more forgetful, like her mind was somewhere else.”
Emma’s parents say they know Emma complained to her manager at least twice about problems at work, but claim nothing was done.
Emma’s father, David Price, 60, said he even went to the branch where Emma worked in Pitsea, Essex, to try to get some answers after making his own complaints three times.
He said: ‘I went there about two or three months ago and tried to talk to them; they banned me from going and told Emma I wasn’t welcome there.
“She told me ‘they don’t listen to me'”
As a result of the overdose, Emma suffered a stroke and brain damage.
She is now also paralyzed on her right side and is on a ventilator to keep her breathing.
Today, the family said they will have to take him off life support on Monday because he is brain dead.
David Price (pictured with his daughter Emma) said he even went to the branch where his daughter worked in Pitsea, Essex, to try to get some answers after making his own complaints three times.
Ms Day said: ‘I think I’ve cried so much I’ve run out of tears.
‘We sat down and talked to her, she has four very good friends from work who have been going to see her.
‘She’s been opening her eyes and responding, but she’s not there.
We thought there was hope because she responded to our voices, but she has partial brain damage and is paralyzed on her right side.
We said it didn’t matter: if he could go home, he would go home.
“She is a very kind person, who would do anything for anyone. She is very good with her nephews and nieces, and makes us laugh when she gives the dog a rope.
“I just want people to know that there needs to be somewhere they can go or someone they can talk to if they’re being harassed. Workplace harassment is wrong.
“We just want our daughter back.”
The family was raising money through GoFundMe for home adaptations if Emma was able to return home.
They have now pledged to donate the money to mental health and anti-bullying charities and to her funeral.
They are also considering taking steps to sue KFC for what they claim is a failure in their duty of care and holding them liable for Emma’s injuries.
The family expressed anger that KFC had told them it would conduct an internal investigation, but that the company had not asked about Emma’s condition.
A KFC spokesperson said the company’s thoughts are with Emma and her family at this difficult time.
Yesterday, a KFC spokesperson said: ‘Our thoughts are with Emma and her family at this difficult time.
‘Maintaining a work environment that is safe and inclusive for all team members is essential to us as a company.
“These allegations are being taken very seriously and an urgent investigation into the matter is already underway.”