McDonald’s has signed a legal agreement with the equality watchdog amid concerns over how it has handled sexual harassment complaints made by UK staff. The move comes after allegations by workers at the fast-food chain’s US restaurants of sexual harassment in the workplace over several years and the company’s failure to deal with the issue.
It is not known how many current complaints have been made in the UK but the Bakers, Food and Allied Workers Union (BFAWU) claimed in 2019 that more than 1,000 UK cases had been reported. The legally binding agreement, with the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), commits the group to a number of measures to better protect workers in the UK.
It does not include chains in Ireland or overseas, such as in the US. Such measures include communicating a "zero tolerance" approach to sexual harassment, to provide anti-harassment training for its employees, and to improve policies to better respond to complaints.
