What Did McDonald’s UK Boss Tell Parliament While Hundreds Join Legal Action?
McDonald’s has dismissed 29 employees over the past year following sexual harassment allegations, the company’s UK chief executive revealed to MPs on January 7, 2025. Alistair Macrow told the business and trade select committee that the fast-food chain had received 75 allegations of sexual harassment during the last 12 months, with 47 resulting in disciplinary action. His appearance before the committee came as more than 700 junior McDonald’s workers joined legal action against the company, alleging widespread discrimination, homophobia, and sexual harassment at over 450 UK restaurants. The new cases have emerged despite McDonald’s promises to address concerns raised in a BBC investigation conducted in 2023.
5 Key Points
- McDonald’s UK CEO told MPs that 29 people were dismissed after 75 harassment allegations over the past year
- More than 700 junior workers have joined legal action involving over 450 McDonald’s UK locations
- Current employees told the BBC they still face sexual abuse despite the company’s promises to address issues
- One 19-year-old employee reported being subjected to homophobic slurs, including being called a “faggot”
- The Equality and Human Rights Commission has received complaints about 300 reported incidents of harassment
Why Are Hundreds of McDonald’s Workers Taking Legal Action?
More than 700 current and former junior McDonald’s crew members—some as young as 19—have instructed the law firm Leigh Day to take action on their behalf after allegations of widespread discrimination, homophobia, and sexual harassment at UK restaurants. The legal action implicates more than 450 of McDonald’s UK outlets, approximately one-third of its UK operations.
The scale of the legal action highlights ongoing concerns despite the company’s previous promises to address workplace issues. In January 2023, the BBC investigated harassment at McDonald’s UK locations. On January 7, 2025, the broadcaster claimed workers at the chain were still facing sexual abuse and harassment despite McDonald’s commitment to resolve these issues.
During the parliamentary committee meeting, Liam Byrne, the business and trade select committee chair, directly challenged McDonald’s UK boss, asking if the company had “basically now become a predator’s paradise.” The question underscores the severity of the allegations and the growing concern among lawmakers about workplace culture at one of the UK’s largest private sector employers, which has 168,000 people working across more than 1,400 restaurants nationwide.
What Kinds of Harassment Have McDonald’s Workers Reported?
Current and former McDonald’s employees have reported distressing experiences of workplace harassment. One 19-year-old client of Leigh Day said they had been subject to homophobic comments from both managers and other crew members. “I feel as though I can’t speak to any managers about it,” the employee said. “My manager said if I can’t deal with it, I should just leave the job. Things said to me shouldn’t be said to anyone, I’ve been called names like ‘faggot’. These comments make me feel really uncomfortable – I hate working there.”
Another client, who left his job at a McDonald’s branch in the Midlands last year, told the BBC he was bullied for having a learning disability and an eye condition. He also reported witnessing managers and staff being racist to other employees and claimed that managers had tried to “touch other staff up,” suggesting inappropriate physical contact in the workplace.
Leigh Day reported additional examples of harassment, including a young worker repeatedly being pestered for sex and another being asked intrusive sexual questions, including how many people they had slept with. In another serious allegation, a worker was reportedly asked to provide sexual favors in exchange for additional work shifts, which she refused.
These accounts led Liam Byrne to conclude that the allegations appeared to reveal “a pattern of abuse in what’s become a hotbed of harassment,” suggesting systemic issues rather than isolated incidents within the company’s UK operations.
How Has McDonald’s Responded to the Harassment Allegations?
Alistair Macrow, McDonald’s UK chief executive, told MPs that the allegations were “abhorrent, they are unacceptable, and there is no place for them in McDonald’s” and insisted the company was determined to create a culture where there was “no hiding place for bad actors.” However, he characterized the cases as “isolated incidents” that were primarily historical before the company implemented several changes to address workplace conduct issues.
When MP Antonia Bance suggested that McDonald’s widespread use of zero-hours contracts “opened the door to favoritism, bullying, and sexual harassment” and claimed that the setup, where workers have no guarantees on regular working hours “enables predatory managers and puts workers at greater risk of bullying and sexual harassment,” Macrow disagreed. He did not accept that premise, arguing that McDonald’s workers, often students, valued flexibility in their working hours and that the harassment cases “are cultural issues that must be addressed, not contractual issues.”
McDonald’s has outlined several measures taken to address the harassment issues. The company said it had hired its first head of safeguarding and had rolled out company-wide programs to improve safeguarding, awareness, and training. These include a digital whistleblowing channel called Red Flags and an investigations handling unit “dedicated to rooting out any behavior that falls below the high standards we demand of everyone at McDonald’s.”
What Role Are Government Bodies Playing in Addressing These Issues?
The ongoing complaints about harassment and discrimination at McDonald’s have attracted the attention of the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), a sign that the issue has reached national significance. The EHRC reported receiving complaints about 300 reported incidents of harassment since the original BBC investigation in 2023 and stated it was ramping up its intervention.
The appearance of McDonald’s UK chief executive before the Business and Trade Select Committee demonstrates that the issue has also drawn parliamentary scrutiny. The questioning from committee members, including chair Liam Byrne and MP Antonia Bance, suggests growing concern about workplace culture and employee protection at large employers using flexible work arrangements.
In response to the allegations and growing pressure from both legal action and regulatory bodies, a McDonald’s spokesperson reiterated the company’s position, stating: “Any incident of misconduct and harassment is unacceptable and subject to rapid and thorough investigation and action.” This statement, along with Macrow’s comments to MPs, indicates that McDonald’s publicly acknowledges the allegations’ seriousness while disputing their systemic nature.
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