McDonald's: Every branch in Britain warned over staff sexual abuse

The UK's equality watchdog has sent letters to all 1,400 McDonald's branches in the UK, warning that their owners could face legal action if they fail to take effective measures to protect employees from sexual assault. This follows a BBC investigation that revealed a "toxic culture" of sexual assault and harassment within McDonald's.

The agency emphasized in the letter that all branches must comply with relevant legal obligations or face enforcement measures. In January of this year, McDonald's employees told the BBC that they were still facing sexual harassment despite the company's CEO's promise to improve behavior within the fast-food chain. McDonald's stated that it is "committed" to taking all necessary measures to ensure that all employees have a safe working environment and believes that current plans are working.

An employee working at a McDonald's franchise restaurant in southwest Scotland told the BBC that he hopes the intervention will bring "tangible change" for people like him. The 19-year-old employee, who goes by the pseudonym Alan, previously told the BBC that he had been subjected to repeated "degrading and abusive" verbal abuse by colleagues and faced "homophobic remarks."

Alan is still working at McDonald's and says the situation hasn't improved much, and he hopes to "get out" of this predicament. The UK's Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) said in its letter to McDonald's that the allegations raised in the BBC investigation were "disturbing" and noted that "similar incidents have occurred repeatedly."

Most McDonald's restaurants are operated by franchisees, meaning individual business owners are licensed to operate stores and employ staff. The EHRC said that franchisees are not bound by the legally binding agreement it reached with McDonald's in February 2023, which aims to prevent sexual harassment in restaurants. However, the EHRC stressed that all businesses in the UK, regardless of size, must comply with the Equality Act.

EHRC Chief Executive John Kirkpatrick informed the restaurants in the letter: "You have a responsibility to ensure that any anti-discrimination and anti-harassment measures currently in place are effective and to take all necessary steps to protect your employees." The letter listed "reasonable steps" that restaurants can take to prevent sexual harassment, including conducting regular risk assessments, ensuring that young and more vulnerable employees are properly protected, and handling complaints in a sensitive and effective manner through established procedures.

The EHRC added that any franchise restaurant that fails to comply with its legal obligations "may face enforcement action." The EHRC has a range of statutory enforcement powers, including the ability to launch formal investigations. If an organization repeatedly refuses to comply, the agency can take it to court and impose unlimited fines.

Liam Byrne, chair of the UK's Business and Trade Select Committee, said the BBC's investigation into abuse at McDonald's "revealed completely unacceptable malpractice." He called on the EHRC to explain "why it has only now written to McDonald's restaurants informing them of their new obligations under the law to prevent sexual harassment, which came into force nearly six months ago." He said, "It is particularly concerning that the regulator has been aware of hundreds of allegations of harassment for several years."

Byrne added: "Parliamentary committees have twice found their enforcement to be disappointingly weak. It is now crucial that the public is confident that they are on top of the problem, not behind the curve." In response, Kirkpatrick said: "We believe that the best way to achieve improvement is usually to work with management teams who are willing to cooperate to achieve real change." He also added: "We can take action against businesses. If we need to do that, then we will do that."

The BBC began investigating working conditions at McDonald's two years after McDonald's signed an agreement with the EHRC. In July 2023, the BBC released a preliminary investigation report that reported incidents of employees (some as young as 17) claiming to be subjected to almost constant sexual harassment. At the time, McDonald's apologized and created a new department to handle complaints. Since then, more than 160 people have made allegations to the BBC, while the EHRC has received reports of 300 harassment incidents.

Other allegations heard by the BBC include: a 19-year-old employee said managers would "touch" other employees and some colleagues were afraid to go to work. He resigned from his job at a Midlands branch last year. One employee said a manager touched her inappropriately and customers also sexually harassed her. When she raised the matter, she was told to "put up with it." She resigned from her job in the West Midlands at the end of 2023. A 16-year-old employee working in the West Midlands said he was bullied, abused and verbally abused by a manager. A 20-year-old employee said a male manager sent her nude photos. She left her McDonald's branch in eastern England in August.

Earlier this year, the BBC reported that the EHRC planned to intervene again, given "our engagement with the company and the serious allegations raised by the BBC investigation." The BBC understands that the action plan will involve strengthening existing measures (including providing more training and conducting employee surveys) and announcing new measures.

Since the BBC's initial investigation, Alistair Macrow, the boss of McDonald's UK, has been summoned to parliament twice to answer questions before MPs. In January of this year, he said that 29 people had been fired in the past 12 months for allegations of sexual harassment. A McDonald's spokesperson said in a statement that the agreement signed with the EHRC is "designed to continually evolve to ensure the robust measures we have in place align with any updated guidance."

The spokesperson said that the sending of the letter "is to remind our franchisees of their legal obligations to provide a safe, respectful and inclusive workplace for their employees – which is the same legal requirement of all employers," and added that McDonald's "welcomes" any measures that can continue to make progress in this area. McDonald's and its franchisees are committed to taking all necessary measures to ensure that all employees have a safe working environment and are taking various initiatives and measures as part of a cultural action plan.

"These actions include everything from strengthening training programs and onboarding practices, to launching a new digital speak-up channel that has been designed with our and our franchisees’ restaurant employees in mind," the spokesperson said. "We believe that the plans we have in place are working and are having an impact on the nearly 170,000 people currently employed by McDonald's and its franchisees in the UK and Ireland." They added that the latest anonymous employee survey showed that 94% of people know how they can speak up.