McDonald’s agrees further measures to protect staff from sexual abuse

McDonald’s has agreed a further set of measures with Britain’s equality watchdog to protect the fast food chain’s staff from sexual abuse. The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) had originally signed a legal agreement with McDonald’s to prevent sexual harassment in 2023, following concerns about how complaints made by staff were handled in its UK restaurants. The original agreement was due to end in 2025, but this has now been strengthened and extended for at least a year. In March, the regulator was forced to write a letter to owners of McDonald’s UK franchises warning them that they could face legal action if they failed to comply. The EHRC said on Friday it needed to agree “stronger actions” with McDonald’s, but was pleased with steps the group was now taking. Earlier this year, more than 700 people who were aged 19 or younger when working at McDonald’s instructed law firm Leigh Day to take legal action on their behalf. More than 450 McDonald’s restaurants had been implicated in the claims by February, which described discrimination, homophobia, racism, ableism and harassment. Baroness Kishwer Falkner, chairwoman of the EHRC, said: “We originally signed a legal agreement with McDonald’s to prevent sexual harassment in 2023. “After serious allegations were raised, we decided we needed to update the action plan with stronger actions that were more specific to the way McDonald’s operates. “We’re pleased with the significant steps McDonald’s has agreed to take towards a safer working environment for its staff and recognise the hard work they’ve done so far. “Once completed, the actions that make up this legal agreement will ensure that there is zero tolerance for harassment at McDonald’s and there are clear routes to report and resolve complaints if it does occur.” The strengthened steps that McDonald’s must take under the new agreement include working with external experts on a new safeguarding plan to protect vulnerable workers, which will be rolled out across McDonald’s restaurants; ensuring complaints against managers are investigated outside the restaurant; hiring an external auditor to audit McDonald’s new complaints handling unit and expanding training for managers and franchisees to cover social media and grooming. McDonald’s is one of Britain’s largest employers, with more than 170,000 people working in 1,450 restaurants. The fast food giant says the average age of its employees is 20. The legal claims follow a separate BBC report in 2023, in which workers spoke of sexual assault, harassment, racism and bullying in the workplace. That prompted McDonald’s to bring in consultants from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) to audit its restaurants. McDonald’s has been approached for comment.