McDonald's employees in the U.K. are facing terminations because of harassment and sex abuse allegations against them. Their boss even said that the cases he investigated were "truly horrific."
A sign stands outside of a McDonald's restaurant on February 9, 2009, in San Francisco, California. Fast food chain restaurant McDonald's reported a 7.1 percent increase in same-store sales for January as people look towards cheaper food alternatives in the weakening economy.
Because of this, McDonald's U.K. is facing huge pressure to improve its work culture. The American fast-food chain needs to make drastic efforts, especially since it has over 1,400 outlets in the United Kingdom.
When it comes to workers, McDonald's U.K. is estimated to have almost 180,000 employees.
UK: McDonald's Employees Fired Due to Harassment, Sex Abuse Allegations
Recently, BBC conducted an investigation and discovered that some young McDonald's employees in the U.K. are being harassed or sexually abused.
Investigators claimed that this alarming incident is becoming a routine in the work culture of McDonald's U.K. As of writing, 18 workers have already been terminated, which was confirmed by Alistair Macrow, the CEO of McDonald's U.K. and Ireland.
Macrow said that he already informed members of the Parliament (MPs) that the fast-food chain received over 400 employee complaints since July. However, they were only able to investigate 157 of them as of writing.
Some of the complaints revealed that several McDonald's employees as young as 17 years old were harassed and groped by their colleagues. Victims accused McDonald's U.K. of having a toxic work environment where sexual assault, bullying, and racism happen.
They claimed that the fast-food chain isn't taking these alarming issues seriously. Since Macrow confirmed that they are receiving one to two complaints of sexual harassment per week, he decided to establish an investigation handling unit specifically for these cases.
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What McDonald's UK Boss Promises
A McDonald's customer is seen through the window at a McDonald's restaurant on February 9, 2009, in San Francisco, California. Fast food chain restaurant McDonald's reported a 7.1 percent increase in same-store sales for January as people look towards cheaper food alternatives in the weakening economy.
Alistair Macrow admitted that many of the complaints they receive are "truly horrific." But, he promises that they are doing everything they can to eradicate the mentioned work problems above.
"What I'd like to be clear about is that we will tackle them and make sure that we do everything we can to eradicate them from the business. Nothing is more important," said the McDonald's U.K. boss via The Guardian.
He shared that they already implemented disciplinary actions for 75 employees. Meanwhile, 17 workers were confirmed to have sexually harassed their colleagues, which led to their terminations.
As of writing, 27 more are being investigated to determine the action needed to be taken.
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