McDonald’s boss says 29 workers fired over sexual harassment claims
However, Alistair Macrow told MPs the fast food giant’s actions to deal with the problem are ‘working’.
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Your support makes all the difference.The UK boss of McDonald’s has said fresh sexual harassment allegations from staff at the fast food giant are “abhorrent” and that 29 workers have been fired.
However, Alistair Macrow, chief executive of McDonald’s UK and Ireland, told MPs that the chain’s actions to deal with the problem are “working”.
It came after more than 700 people who were 19 or younger when working at McDonald’s joined a legal action against the company, with claims including discrimination, homophobia, racism, ableism and harassment.
More than 450 McDonald’s restaurants have been implicated in the allegations so far.
The questioning of Mr. Macrow came at a Business and Trade Committee session which also saw clothing retailer Shein heavily criticised for failing to provide details on possible labour rights issues in their supply chain in China.
One 19-year-old employee at McDonald’s called Matt told a BBC investigation his colleagues were scared of going in to work and that managers would “touch up” some staff. Another former worker, who was identified as Claire, said a shift manager asked her for sex in exchange for extra shifts. She was 17 at the time and he was in his 30s, she said.
McDonald’s is one of Britain’s largest employers, with more than 170,000 people working in some 1,500 restaurants.
Mr Macrow told MPs during a Business and Trade Committee session on Tuesday that the company has fired 29 workers over sexual harassment allegations in the past year.
A total of 75 allegations were made over the period, leading to 47 cases of disciplinary action, he said.
The fast food chain had launched a new channel for employees to speak up over concerns about misconduct which had resulted in more dismissals, the boss added. Mr Macrow also revealed that 15 franchisees have left McDonald’s over the last five years due to under-performance. Six of those were for failing to meet the standard for people practices, he said.
Mr Macrow added: “Those allegations described are abhorrent, unacceptable and there is no place for them in McDonald’s.
“There cannot be any room in our business for people who behave in that manner. The measures that are put in place mean that we are able to offer a secure, safe workplace where people are respected and feel included. I hear from our people that it is working.”
The claims come after 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.
A McDonald’s spokesman said the chain has done “extensive work” to make its workplaces safer.
“Any incident of misconduct and harassment is unacceptable and subject to rapid and thorough investigation and action,” they said.
They added that the company has set up a dedicated team to tackle the problem, which has “already rolled out company-wide programmes to improve safeguarding, drive awareness and enhance training”.
“We are confident that we are taking significant and important steps to tackle the unacceptable behaviours facing every organisation.”
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