The UK boss of McDonald’s appears in front of MPs today after new allegations of sexual harassment emerged, despite the restaurant chain’s efforts to stamp out its toxic culture.
Alistair Macrow, chief executive of McDonald’s UK and Ireland, will answer questions on employment rights from the business and trade select committee today (7 January) as the BBC published further allegations of sexual harassment and bullying.
In February 2023, McDonald’s Restaurants signed a section 23 agreement with the government’s equality watchdog in response to concerns about the handling of harassment complaints made by UK staff.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission said in a statement to the BBC: “We are actively working with McDonald’s to update our ongoing legal agreement in light of serious allegations raised by our work with the company, and the BBC investigation.”
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The latest allegations made to the BBC include a 17-year-old former employee on a zero-hours contract who said a manager in his 30s asked her for sex in return for extra shifts.
Another described being subjected to “degrading and humiliating” homophobic abuse by colleagues at a McDonald’s in Scotland. When he reported the problem to a senior manager, he said he was told it was “just a bit of banter”.
A third shared how he quit his job at a McDonald’s in the Midlands last year because of its “toxic” work environment, saying he was bullied for having a learning disability and an eye condition. He said managers and staff were racist to other staff and that managers tried “to touch other staff up”.
Liam Byrne, chair of the business and trade committee, described the situation as “appalling”. He told the BBC: “There is a clear pattern of abuse here that suggests that McDonald’s has become a hotbed of harassment and it’s incredibly serious. And when the boss of McDonald’s came before us last year he promised that he would root out this problem and it’s quite clear that he’s failed.”
Following the BBC’s initial investigation in 2023, McDonald’s hired PwC to audit its restaurants and assess the wellbeing of its workers. However, one former senior manager in his early 20s who ran a restaurant in the south of England said the inspections were “rigged” so that only the best employees were interviewed.
A McDonald’s spokesperson told the BBC that PwC’s site visits play a “crucial role” in assessing each restaurant against specific criteria and ensuring standards are met.
“In the few instances where our expectations have not been met, we have taken prompt corrective action,” they said. “The assessment procedures are under constant review by PwC and were refined early in the programme to ensure that employee interviews – which form part of the assessment – are selected randomly by independent assessors, further safeguarding the integrity of the process.”
Separately, law firm Leigh Day said it has been instructed by current and former staff aged 19 and under to commence legal action against McDonald’s with around 450 branches implicated in the harassment claims.
Paula Lee, partner in the employment team at Leigh Day, said: “Since the original BBC investigation, more than 700 young McDonald’s employees from across the country have contacted Leigh Day and joined the claim. These continue to grow as more crew members learn that they can also access justice.”
Any current McDonald’s staff aged under 20 may be eligible to join the legal action. The claim is also open to those who experienced harassment, directly or indirectly, left McDonald’s after July 2019, and were under 20 at the time of leaving.
If the claim is successful, Leigh Day believes claimants could be entitled to compensation. The firm is acting on a “no-win, no-fee” basis.
A McDonald’s spokesperson said: “Ensuring the 168,000 people that work in McDonald’s restaurants are safe is the most important responsibility for both us and our franchisees, and we have undertaken extensive work over the last year to ensure we have industry-leading practices in place to support this priority.
“Any incident of misconduct and harassment is unacceptable and subject to rapid and thorough investigation and action.”
McDonald’s said it has implemented a company-wide programme to improve safeguarding, drive awareness and enhance training, and has introduced additional ways for employees to speak up, confidentially.
It said an anonymous employee survey showed that 92% of its franchisees’ people are comfortable speaking up, and 93% believe management will act.
“However, we know that we must be constantly vigilant, and we will challenge and confront any behaviour that falls below those standards,” the company said.
In 2021, McDonald’s workers walked out in 12 US cities in protest against how the restaurant chain has dealt with sexual harassment claims, particularly in franchised outlets.
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