Every McDonalds in Britain warned of legal action after ‘sex for shifts’ scandal saw hundreds of workers come forward
EVERY McDonalds’ restaurant in Britain has been slapped with a warning after “sex for shifts” scandal.
Owners of UK franchises have been told they could face legal action if they fail to take steps to protect workers from sexual abuse.
Earlier this year, more than 700 people who were aged 19 or younger when working at McDonald’s joined together to tackle misconduct in the office.
They instructed law firm Leigh Day to take legal action on their behalf after it came out that managers were offering more shifts in exchange for sex.
Managers were accused of asking teenage staff members how many people they’d slept with, inappropriately touching young employees during shifts and “preying on young female workers”.
More than 450 McDonald’s restaurants had been implicated in the claims by February, which described discrimination, homophobia, racism, ableism and harassment.
Claire, who is using fake name, worked at a West Midlands branch until May 2023 when she was forced to quit due to uncomfortable behaviour.
She told the BBC her shift manager would ask her for sex in return for extra shifts, which she refused.
The legal warning that went out to sites stated that any restaurant found in breach of its duties “may be at risk of enforcement action”.
It outlined “reasonable steps” including regular risk assessments, increased safeguarding of younger workers and ensuring complaints are dealt with through a streamlined, effective procedure.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) informed the restaurant chain there was “no excuse not to comply” with rules protecting its workers from unlawful discrimination or harassment.
EHRC chief executive John Kirkpatrick said: “Every business in Britain, whether it’s small or large, must comply with the Equality Act. The owners of McDonald’s franchises are no exception and we’ve written to them directly to make their obligations clear.
“We know some business owners might be unsure of what action they need to take, and that’s why we’ve created clear and easy-to-follow guidance which explains how businesses can meet their legal duties.
“This is available on our website and we’ve shared it with all McDonald’s franchises so there is no excuse not to comply.
“We will not hesitate to take appropriate regulatory action if we believe a business is breaking equality law.
“Further to this intervention, we are actively working with McDonald’s Restaurants Limited to strengthen our ongoing legal agreement with them in the light of the serious allegations raised from workers.”
A McDonald’s spokesperson told the BBC it was “committed” to providing a safe working environment for staff.
The company also “welcomed” any advice on updating or enhancing existing procedures.
“These actions include everything from enhanced training programmes and onboarding practices, through to the launch of a new digital speak up channel designed with our and our franchisees’ restaurant crew in mind,” a spokesperson said.
“We are confident that the plan we have in place is working and making a difference to the near 170,000 people currently employed by McDonald’s and our franchisees across McDonald’s in the UK & Ireland today.”
McDonald’s is one of Britain’s largest employers, with more than 170,000 people working in 1,450 restaurants – with the average age of its employees being 20.
The claims come after a separate BBC report in 2023, in which workers spoke of sexual assault, harassment, racism and bullying in the workplace.
Staff members claimed when they tried to raise the issue they were told to “suck it up.”
These complaints prompted McDonald’s to bring in consultants from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) to audit its restaurants.
Leigh Day lawyers believe junior crew members and staff at McDonald’s could be entitled to bring claims, regardless of whether they have directly experienced harassment.
It said they could have been exposed to a culture of inappropriate conduct, and urged any current staff aged under 20 to join the legal action.
McDonald’s outlets work using a franchise model, meaning local managers are in charge of recruiting staff.
About 89 per cent of British workers at McDonald’s are on zero-hours contracts – with shift patterns left entirely up to the manager.
A McDonald’s spokesperson last year told the PA news agency the chain had 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 had 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.”
A recent anonymous employee survey showed that 92% of its workers are “now comfortable speaking up”, they said.
The company said it offers its employees the choice of zero-hours or guaranteed hours contracts.