The Equality and Human Rights Commission has sent a letter to all McDonald’s branches in England, Scotland and Wales to warn them that they could be held accountable if the owners fail to protect their staff against sexual harassment.
Alistair Macrow , UK’s chief executive, was questioned by MPs earlier this year after BBC investigations revealed hundreds of cases of harassment, despite the company claiming to have taken measures to protect its staff.
BBC reports that the BBC has received the letter and has seen it sent to 1,400 branches. The BBC has called the allegations “troubling” and warned the chain about “repeated incident”.
The EHRC and McDonald’s entered into a legally-binding agreement in February 2023 to prevent sexual harassment at its restaurants. Franchises, however, are not covered.
It fired 18 people later that year after the BBC discovered that employees as young as seventeen were being harassed and groped, and that they complained about racism and bullying.
Since the original investigation, hundreds of incidents have been reported. The business has also been asked to appear twice before a special committee.
The letter continues: “It’s your responsibility to ensure any anti-discrimination or harassment measures that you have in place are effective and to take all necessary steps to protect workers.”
The document outlines the “reasonable measures” that branches should take to prevent sexual harassment. This includes regular risk assessments, and making sure complaints are handled sensitively and effectively by a robust process.
It explains that restaurants who do not adhere to these legal obligations “may face enforcement action”.
Liam Byrne of the Business and Trade Select Committee asked the EHRC why they “only just now wrote to McDonald’s about their new duty… when the law came into force nearly six months ago.”
Worker Protection Act imposed a new obligation on employers to prevent sexual harassment.
Macrow told the Select Committee in January that 29 people were dismissed in the past 12 months due to allegations of sexual harassment.
McDonald’s stated in a BBC statement that it would do everything to provide a safe work environment for its employees.
The spokesperson stated that “These actions range from enhanced training programs and onboarding practices to the launch a new digital talk up channel, designed for our restaurant staff and franchisees” crew.
We are confident that our plan is working, and has made a positive impact on the nearly 170,000 people who work for McDonald’s today and the franchisees of McDonald’s throughout the UK & Ireland.
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