McDonald's Restaurants in UK Warned Over Staff Sexual Abuse

Every McDonald's in Britain has been warned that its owners could face legal action if they fail to take steps to protect staff from sexual abuse, Noor Mamji and Zoe Conway reported for BBC News.

The vast majority of McDonald's restaurants in the UK are operated as franchises, meaning individual operators are licensed to run the outlets and employ staff. I Photo: McDonald's

The equality watchdog has written to all 1,400 branches, instructing them to comply with their legal duties or risk enforcement action, following a BBC investigation that uncovered claims of a toxic culture of sexual assault and harassment.

In January, McDonald's workers told BBC News that they still faced sexual harassment more than a year after the company’s chief executive promised to clean up behavior at the fast-food chain.

McDonald's stated that it was "committed" to ensuring a safe working environment for all employees, adding, "We are confident that the plan we have in place is working."

The BBC has exclusively obtained a letter from the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC). The EHRC described the allegations as "troubling" and noted that there had been "repeated incidents."

The vast majority of McDonald's restaurants in the UK are operated as franchises, meaning individual operators are licensed to run the outlets and employ staff.

One current McDonald's employee, who works at a franchise restaurant in southwest Scotland, expressed hope that the intervention would lead to "concrete change" for people like him.

The 19-year-old worker, whom BBC News is calling Alan, previously shared in January that he had been repeatedly subjected to "degrading and humiliating" verbal abuse from colleagues, including "homophobic slurs."

Alan still works at the restaurant and says conditions have not significantly improved, adding that he wants to "get away" from the situation.