The boss of McDonald’s in the UK has set up an investigations unit after more than 100 current and former restaurant staff alleged sexual harassment and bullying at some outlets.
Alistair Macrow, the chief executive of McDonald’s for the UK and Ireland, said the claims were “personally and professionally shocking” and the business had “fallen short in some critical areas”.
A BBC investigation published on Tuesday found teenage workers were sexually assaulted or mistreated at certain fast-food outlets. There were further allegations of racism and homophobia.
In response, Macrow said the unit would refer the most serious cases to a third-party legal team staffed with “specialist investigators”.
He also promised to appoint external experts to ensure the company’s safeguarding processes were operating “consistently to the highest levels” and evaluate what happened when a member of staff complained about a colleague.
The BBC report contained allegations of complaints being escalated to senior managers, but then not being progressed.
Macrow said further outside expertise would be hired to implement a “company-wide conversation” aimed at ensuring there was “wholehearted confidence in and support for a ‘speaking up’ culture”.
He said: “I would like to reiterate my unreserved apology to, and empathy with, all those affected in any way, and I commend their bravery in coming forward.
“We have clearly fallen short in some critical areas, and I am determined to root out any behaviour or conduct that falls below the high standards of respect, safety and inclusion we demand of everyone at McDonald’s as detailed in our global brand standards.”
The BBC reports included allegations by Shelby, who was 16 when she started working at a McDonald’s outlet in Berkshire. She said older male staff would inappropriately touch junior members of the team.
She alleged: “They’d grope stomach, waists, bums. Every shift I worked, there would be at least a comment being made, or I’d be brushed, a hand brushed across me, or it would be a more severe thing, like having my bum grabbed, hips grabbed.”
In another allegation a 17-year-old worker at an outlet in Plymouth said a senior manager choked and grabbed her bottom, and another member of management sent her sexually explicit images.
The allegations prompted an outcry in Westminster. A spokesperson for Rishi Sunak said the allegations were “deeply concerning”. Darren Jones, the Labour chair of the business and trade committee, described the claims as “appalling” and said the fast-food outlet should terminate deals with any franchisees that were “not following labour law”.
In February, McDonald’s signed an agreement with the equality watchdog to improve how it handles sexual harassment allegations. In 2019, the Bakers Food and Allied Workers Union said it had spoken to 1,000 women who reported being subjected to sexual harassment and abuse while working at the chain.
