News McDonald’s challenged over ‘horrific’
staff bullying and harassment accusations Two complaints of sexual harassment are received from staff members in UK McDonald’s restaurants per week, its boss reveals
By Sophie Witts
The UK boss of McDonald’s has admitted the business receives up to two complaints of sexual harassment from staff mem- bers in its restaurants per week. Alistair Macrow told MPs
some of the cases had been “absolutely horrendous” and said the perpetrators would be “eradicated” from the business. McDonald’s is one of the
UK’s largest private sector employers with more than 170,000 staff working across 1,450 restaurants. It is facing growing pressure to improve its work culture after more than 160 people told the BBC they had experienced sexual assault, racism, harassment and bully- ing while working at the chain. Macrow said McDonald’s had received 407 complaints from staff since setting up an inde- pendent handling unit in July, some of which dated back to the 1980s. These included accusa- tions of sexual assault, bullying and racism. Of the 157 cases that had been investigated, 75 resulted in dis- ciplinary action and 18 staff members had been sacked. Macrow said there had been
17 confirmed cases of sexual harassment in the company and a further 27 were under investigation. “We would see typically between 20-25 contacts per week of which one or two would be sexual harassment and about five would be bullying,” said Macrow. He told MPs some cases
had been escalated to the police but was unable to confirm the exact number. Ian Hodson, national presi-
dent of the Bakers, Food and Allied Workers Union (BFAWU), told MPs he had heard of accusations of sexual harassment at McDonald’s since 2014. He said union representa- tives had visited “every store in
6 | The Caterer | 24 November 2023
McDonald’s received 407 complaints from staff since July, which include accusations of bullying and racism Parliament’s Business and
London” and heard complaints from workers that their claims had been ignored. “Some of the stories are absolutely horrific… in the 21st century in the UK it shouldn’t happen,” he said. Macrow said no franchise agreements have been termi- nated due to sexual harassment complaints, but six had stopped
working with the chain over the past five years after under- performing on “people brand standards”. He added: “These testimonies
are truly horrific. It’s very hard to listen to, to be in charge of a business where some of these things have occurred in some of our restaurants is something which is very difficult to hear.”
What are the legal implications for McDonald’s?
The scale of accusations made against McDonald’s could see the chain face a potentially hefty financial penalty. Law firm Leigh Day is working
on a group legal action against the restaurant group and said workers may be entitled to compensation if they had been exposed to unsafe work practices. It said McDonald’s could face
age discrimination claims as the accusations being made against the restaurant’s UK branches put the youngest employees at the biggest disadvantage. Alan Collins, partner in the
sex abuse team at Hugh James Solicitors, explained the range of complaints that could be faced
under the banner of harassment. He said sexual harassment could be directed at an individual or there could be a wider workplace culture – such as sharing explicit images – that was not aimed at one person. “What was possibly seen
once as ‘acceptable’ banter or behaviour in the workplace, if it ever was, no longer is,” said Collins. “Sexual harassment can happen
in person or in other ways, for example online through things like email, social media or messaging tools. We see often in the cases where we represent victims that texting is the predominant means of sexually harassing.
“Employers could in addition find themselves liable to pay compensation to the victim. They could be potentially vicariously liable for the sexual harassment committed by their employees. “The compensation could be significant because it is widely recognised how psychologically damaging sexual harassment can be.” He added that the full extent
of sexual harassment in the workplace in the UK was likely not understood because it was often under-reported. “It may be that as result of more
high-profile cases, those who have hesitated in coming forward will now feel empowered to do so.”
www.thecaterer.com
Trade committee will review the evidence shared with MPs and present their conclusions to the government and the Equality and Human Rights Commission, which signed an agreement with McDonald’s this year.
sophie.witts@thecaterer.com
JESSICAGIRVAN/SHUTTERSTOCK
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96
