McDonald's faces up to two sex abuse claims a week

 The head of McDonald's in the UK has acknowledged that the fast-food giant is currently receiving one to two reports of sexual harassment per week, following an investigation by the BBC. Alistair Macrow informed Members of Parliament that the company had received over 400 complaints from employees since July, when the BBC brought to light numerous allegations. He disclosed that 18 individuals had been terminated, but the number of complaints forwarded to the police was unknown.

The BBC's findings revealed instances of inappropriate behavior towards workers as young as 17, creating a hostile work environment at McDonald's where reports of sexual misconduct, racism, and bullying were reportedly not treated seriously. Mr. Macrow informed the Business and Trade Select Committee that McDonald's UK had received a total of 407 employee complaints of various natures since July.

Following the BBC's initial report, Mr. Macrow established an investigation unit to handle complaints. Out of the 157 complaints investigated, 17 pertained to sexual harassment, resulting in disciplinary actions. Additionally, nine were related to bullying, and one concerned racial harassment. For the pending cases yet to be examined, Mr. Macrow mentioned that 27 complaints were related to sexual harassment.

He stated, "To provide an ongoing perspective, we typically receive between 20 to 25 contacts per week, with one or two involving sexual harassment." McDonald's, being one of the largest private sector employers in the UK with over 170,000 employees, has a predominantly youthful workforce, with three-quarters of staff aged 16 to 25. Despite having 1,450 restaurants, Mr. Macrow admitted that none of the franchisees had lost their contracts due to claims of harassment and abuse, with 89% of UK branches being operated by franchisees.