Crisis at McDonald’s as staff claim bosses ignored sexual assault and bullying allegations, refused to give pay rises and stopped workers from taking breaks
- The fast-food giant has one of the youngest workforces in the whole country
- Are you a victim of assault, racism or bullying? Send your story and pictures to [email protected]
McDonald’s is facing a crisis after former workers claimed they endured regular mistreatment at the hands of the fast food chain, including dealing with threats and sexual harassment.
Alistair Macrow, McDonald’s boss in the UK, issued an apology today after the BBC found that more than 100 current and former staff at the fast food chain alleged they had been sexually harassed, assaulted, subjected to racism, bullying or harassment.
The probe has led to the UK equality watchdog launching a new email hotline for staff as it warned it was ‘concerned’ by the findings.
Former employees have now spoken out about dealing with ‘aggressive’ staff members who threatened them and caused lasting anxiety.
A talent acquisition manager based in Edinburgh who worked at McDonald’s from September 2009 to 2011, when she was 16-18 years old, said she endured intimidating behaviour and threats including one worker who said he would slit the throats of girls working there.
The 30-year-old woman, who wished to remain anonymous, said: ‘Being shouted at, intimidated or sexually harassed was common.
Are you a victim of assault, racism or bullying? Share your story by emailing [email protected]
McDonald’s is facing a crisis after former workers claimed they endured regular mistreatment at the hands of the fast food chain
Alistair Macrow, McDonald’s boss in the UK, issued an apology after the BBC found that more than 100 current and former staff at the fast food chain alleged they had been harassed
‘There was one member of staff in particular – he wasn’t a manager but was what they called a crew trainer – who was particularly aggressive and at one point threatened a group of girls working in the store, including me, with slitting our throats.
READ MORE: MCDONALD’S FACES ITS OWN ‘ME TOO’ MOMENT AS EX-STAFF COME FORWARD WITH CLAIMS OF HARASSMENT
‘Management were aware of the threats but because he was good at his job and ‘one of the lads’ they let it slide and nothing was ever done about it.
‘There were a couple who worked in the kitchens that were like that (too)… you would be scared to approach them for anything in case they started shouting at you.
‘Management never did anything because they were obviously scared of them too and those were always the people who got the best shifts.’
She added: ‘It wasn’t unusual as well to walk through the kitchen and have your bum slapped or something too.’
Despite the experience, the worker said she had ‘generally enjoyed’ the job and made friends while working there, but did not receive monetary recognition for her good work.
‘I was a reliable member of staff – I never missed a shift, always turned up on time, and generally enjoyed the job and made a lot of friends while working there,’ she said.
‘I was promoted from crew member to hospitality manager around one year into my time with McDonald’s as I was performing well and regularly trained new members of staff.
‘However, when promoted, they refused to give me a pay rise in line with the new position.’
When she was 18, the then-McDonald’s worker made the decision to leave her university course, so took on full-time hours at the fast food chain.
After then securing a place on an undergraduate programme with a bank that was to begin in October 2011, she decided to leave her job at McDonald’s.
She said she was met with contempt from her store manager who then rapidly reduced her shifts on her zero-hour contract.
In the wake of the investigation, more staff have come forward today
‘When I told him, he scoffed, and told me I was stupid to leave and I would regret it,’ she said.
‘A few days later the new schedule came out and at the time, I was working 30 to 40 hours per week – on the new schedule, I was given six hours twice per month for the remainder of my time there.
READ MORE: Fast-food giant is forced to sign contract with equality watchdog after ‘more than 1,000 complaints’ of workplace sexual harassment in UK branches
‘I asked why as I was happy, and needed to work until I was earning from (the bank).
‘My store manager said I wasn’t committed enough so I wasn’t getting anymore hours but could ask my colleagues to cover their shifts if I wanted.
‘It left me in a really difficult financial position when all I wanted to do was give them plenty of notice and do the right thing.’
A 21-year-old man from Wigan, who also did not wish to be named, said he worked for McDonald’s for a couple of months between 2017 and 2018, while he was in his first year of college but quit due to mistreatment.
He said: ‘I would constantly ask managers for help as I felt uncomfortable in certain areas of the restaurant and was always ignored and told I need to deal with it.
‘I’d be put on new areas of the restaurant with zero help and then you would get the more popular and longer-term staff bullying you and making fun of you for not being good at something you’ve only been doing for an hour.
‘Another thing about the managers was they were always creepily jokey with a lot of the female staff, especially the younger female staff.
‘The work environment was just not nice to be in and gave me a lot of anxiety, which is still with me and carried over to me trying to get work now.’
The 21-year-old, who no longer works due to illness, added that the allocation of breaks also proved challenging to deal with.
‘Some days you could be given a break one hour into an eight hour shift and on others you’ll not be given your break until two hours before you finish,’ he said.
He said that leaving felt like a ‘weight off my shoulders’ and executives at the company should ‘put themselves in the position of people like me, who aren’t very popular or confident and try and enjoy a shift for them’.
After McDonald’s UK boss Mr Macrow’s apology was posted on Twitter, many former workers replied to the post with stories of mistreatment, and the company has responded to many of them asking for further details so it could investigate the issues they faced.
McDonald’s has been accused of creating a toxic work culture of sexual assault, harassment, racism and bullying, with more than 100 current and recent UK staff speaking out. Pictured: General view of a McDonald’s store
The complaints come just months after the chain signed a legal agreement with the equality watchdog amid concerns over how it handled sexual harassment complaints made by UK staff.
It made the legally binding agreement with the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) in February, meaning the restaurant group needed to commit to a number of measures to better protect workers.
At the time, it was unknown the true scale of sexual harassment complaints at McDonalds, but the Bakers, Food and Allied Workers Union (BFAWU) claimed in 2019 that more than 1,000 UK cases have been reported.
Alistair Macrow, chief executive of McDonald’s UK & Ireland, said there was ‘no placement for harassment, abuse or discrimination’ at the company.
He apologised for the claims and admitted there were ‘clearly instances’ where the company had ‘fallen short’.
Mr Macrow added: ‘In February this year McDonald’s UK committed with the Equalities and Human Rights Commission to a zero-tolerance approach to any kind of harassment. This is supported by a companywide programme of training, the roll out of new policies and strict reporting processes, all aimed at offering the highest possible level of workplace protection for all our employees.
‘Already over 2,000 of our managers have completed full awareness training and nearly all of our restaurant teams are now working within these new protections aimed at creating a safe and respectful workplace.
‘All of this is backed by McDonald’s Global Standards, a set of stringent and non-negotiable guardrails to ensure safe and respectful workplaces, which we expect of all colleagues and Franchisees across the world.’
Baroness Kishwer Falkner, chairwoman of the EHRC, said: ‘There should be zero tolerance of sexual harassment in every organisation. I’m concerned at these new reports of harassment at McDonald’s, where we have an existing legal agreement in place to ensure their restaurants are safe places to work.
‘McDonald’s have committed to make improvements to set an example for others to follow, in the hospitality industry and elsewhere.
‘Every employer, no matter how big or small, is responsible for protecting its workforce. We’re determined to continue to crack down on illegal harassment at places of work.’
Anyone who is concerned about incidents of harassment in McDonald’s can report it to [email protected].
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