McDonald’s apologises to UK staff over fresh sexual assault and bullying claims

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McDonald’s has apologised to UK staff over fresh allegations of sexual assault, harassment and a toxic work culture in its restaurants, months after the fast-food chain signed a legally binding agreement with the equalities watchdog to clear up its act.

About 100 current and recent McDonald’s staff in the UK, some as young as 17, told a BBC investigation that groping, harassment and bullying were common in the workplace. Of the 100-plus allegations reported by the BBC, 31 detailed sexual assault, 78 related to sexual harassment and 18 reported racial abuse.

Alistair Macrow, McDonald’s UK and Ireland chief executive, said in a statement on Tuesday there were “clearly instances where we have fallen short and for that, we deeply apologise”.

“There is simply no place for harassment, abuse or discrimination of any kind at McDonald’s — and we will investigate all allegations brought to us,” he added. Macrow said all proven breaches of the company’s code of conduct would be “met with the most severe measures we can legally impose, up to and including dismissal”.

In February, the US chain, which has 170,000 staff over 1,450 sites in the UK alone, vowed to implement anti-harassment training and improve its complaints procedure as part of an agreement with Britain’s Equality and Human Rights Commission.

The EHRC agreement came after the Bakers, Food and Allied Workers Union (BFAWU) said in 2019 it had received at least 1,000 reports of women being allegedly harassed by managers and supervisors.

EHRC chair Baroness Kishwer Falkner said she was “concerned” by the new allegations about the toxic workplace culture at McDonald’s “where we have an existing legal agreement in place to ensure their restaurants are safe places to work”. The BBC allegations relate to the instances which occurred in the five months after the EHRC deal.

The watchdog said it had set up a confidential email hotline for staff who wished to report wrongdoing at McDonald’s and would examine the BBC allegations “closely” in light of the company’s legally binding commitments.

“McDonald’s have committed to make improvements to set an example for others to follow,” said Falkner, adding that the EHRC was “determined to continue to crack down on illegal harassment at places of work”.

McDonald’s has also been rocked by accusations of a toxic work culture in its home market of the US. Earlier this year, a franchise McDonald’s operator in Nevada, Arizona and California agreed to pay out almost $2mn to settle sexual harassment claims.

In 2019, the fast-food chain’s chief executive Steve Easterbrook resigned over claims he had inappropriate consensual relationships with fellow staff. In 2021, he forfeited more than $105mn in equity awards and cash to settle a lawsuit over the issue.

Several of the complaints reported by the BBC related to harassment by senior staff and management. Many staff also alleged that supervisors did not handle complaints properly when they were reported.

Some of the McDonald’s staff who spoke to the BBC described anti-harassment training as not being taken seriously. In addition to anti-harassment training, McDonald’s committed to introducing specific risk training for managers and supporting uptake of the policy among franchisees as part of the EHRC deal.

“We’ve noted that [McDonald’s] has issued an apology but that’s not going to take away the horrific experience that these young workers have endured in what is likely [to be] their first experience of the jobs market,” said Sarah Woolley, BFAWU general secretary. McDonald’s has a very young workforce — with more than three-quarters of its staff aged between 18 and 25.

The size of McDonald’s store footprint in the UK, the fact that almost 90 per cent of its sites were run by franchisees, the very young workforce and the use of zero-hours contracts were “merging together to make this very toxic culture”, added Woolley.