More than 700 young McDonald’s employees have taken legal action against the fast food giant after allegations of widespread discrimination, homophobia and sexual harassment at its restaurants across the UK.
Hundreds of current and former crew members – some as young as 19 – have asked law firm Leigh Day to act on their behalf, in a move which involved more than 450 of its points of sale in Great Britain.
Complainants have come forward following a year-old investigation by the BBC, which said on Tuesday that workers at the chain were still victims of sexual abuse and harassment despite McDonald’s promising to respond to these concerns after they were first raised.
The new allegations and legal proceedings are likely to come to the fore when McDonald’s UK boss Alistair Macrow meets MPs on the Business and Commerce Committee on Tuesday afternoon. McDonald’s is one of the largest private sector employers in the UK, with 168,000 people working in more than 1,400 restaurants.
McDonald’s said: “We have repeatedly asked the BBC to provide details of the deeply disturbing cases it has described, to enable us to carry out thorough investigations, which we have not received. We understand that the majority of these cases occurred more than 12 months ago.
One of Leigh Day’s customers, aged 19, said he was subjected to homophobic comments from managers and other crew members.
“I feel like I can’t talk to any managers about it,” he said. “My manager told me that if I didn’t make it, I should just quit my job. The things people say to me shouldn’t be said to anyone, I’ve been called a “faggot”. These comments make me really uncomfortable – I hate working there.
Another customer, who left his job at a McDonald’s branch in the Midlands last year, told the BBC he had been bullied due to learning disabilities and eye problems. He also said he saw managers and employees being racist toward other employees and that managers tried to “touch up other staff.”
Leigh Day said other examples of harassment included a young worker repeatedly harassed for sex and another who was asked sexual questions, including how many people he had slept with.
One manager allegedly attacked young female workers, while another made racist comments, such as whether staff would steal from the company because of their background.
Ongoing complaints of harassment and discrimination have also attracted the attention of the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), which said it had received complaints about 300 reported incidents of harassment since the initial investigation by the BBC in 2023.
The EHRC said it was stepping up its intervention. “We are actively working with McDonalds to update our current legal agreement in light of the serious allegations raised by our work with the company and the BBC investigation,” the watchdog told broadcaster d ‘information.
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A McDonald’s spokesperson said: “Ensuring the safety of the 168,000 people who work in McDonald’s restaurants is the most important responsibility for us and our franchisees, and we have undertaken extensive work over the last year to ensure we have industry-leading practices to support this priority.
“Any incidents of misconduct and harassment are unacceptable and are subject to prompt and thorough investigation and action. »
McDonald’s said it has hired its first chief safeguarding officer and rolled out company-wide programs to improve safeguarding, awareness and training. This includes a digital whistleblowing channel called Red Flags and an investigations management unit “dedicated to rooting out behavior that doesn’t meet the high standards we demand of everyone at McDonald’s.”
“We are confident that we are taking meaningful and important steps to address the unacceptable behavior that all organizations face,” the spokesperson added.
“We are encouraged that our latest anonymous employee survey showed that 92% of our employees and franchisees are now comfortable speaking out, and 93% believe management will take action. However, we know that we must be constantly vigilant and we will challenge and confront any behavior that does not meet these standards.
theguardian