"McDonald's workers make fresh harassment claims," 7 January 2025

McDonald's workers have said they are still facing sexual abuse and harassment... Since the BBC's original investigation into the company [in 2023], the UK equality watchdog has heard 300 reported incidents of harassment. It now plans to intervene again. A McDonald's spokesperson said the company had undertaken "extensive work" over the past year to ensure it has industry-leading practices in place to keep its workers safe.

The UK boss of McDonald's has been summoned... to answer MPs' questions for a second time, including over claims of sexual abuse...

More than 700 current and former junior employees are now taking legal action against the firm, accusing it of failing to protect them...

The BBC first began investigating working conditions at McDonald's in February 2023, after the company signed a legally binding agreement with the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), in which it pledged to protect its staff from sexual harassment...

A McDonald's spokesperson said: "Ensuring the 168,000 people that work in McDonald's restaurants are safe is the most important responsibility for both us and our franchisees, and we have undertaken extensive work over the last year to ensure we have industry-leading practices in place to support this priority. Any incident of misconduct and harassment is unacceptable and subject to rapid and thorough investigation and action."

The company said: "Our relentless focus on eliminating all forms of harassment at McDonald's is led by a newly created team and informed by the experience and guidance of external experts." It said it had rolled out company-wide programmes to improve safeguarding, drive awareness and enhance training, and in addition to the four existing channels, it had introduced an additional way for employees to speak up, confidentially, at any time, allowing employees to "instantly raise issues digitally", and which was "specifically designed to ensure they feel empowered to speak up".

It also said its new investigations unit was "dedicated to rooting out any behaviour that falls below the high standards" it demands of its workers. "We are confident that we are taking significant and important steps to tackle the unacceptable behaviours facing every organisation," the spokesperson added. It said its latest anonymous employee survey showed that 92% of its franchisees' people are now comfortable speaking up, and 93% believe management will act. "However, we know that we must be constantly vigilant, and we will challenge and confront any behaviour that falls below those standards," it said.