McDonald’s has stumbled into the deep frier after bombshell details have emerged in a twisted “sex for shifts” scandal in the U.K.
More than 700 workers — mostly teen girls — have launched sexual harassment claims against the fast-food juggernaut, the BBC reports.
One teen who worked at a West Midlands outlet until May 2023 told the BBC she was forced to quit because of the highly sexualized atmosphere. Her shift manager allegedly promised her extra shifts — if she had sex with him.
She was 17. He was in his 30s.
“You don’t expect that to happen. It was totally inappropriate,” she said, adding that she was told to “suck it up.”
According to U.K. news reports, managers at McDonald’s are accused of asking their teen staffers how many people they’ve had sex with with, inappropriate touching during shifts and “preying on young female workers.”
McDonald’s U.K. chief executive Alistair Macrow said so far 29 people have been fired.
But some of the alleged victims claim the McMea Culpa was just for show.
One 20-year-old female employee says she was forced to quit in August after her manager bombarded her with nude images. The claims come a year after McD’s chief Macrow vowed to root out bad behaviour.
“Those allegations described are abhorrent, unacceptable and there is no place for them in McDonald’s,” Macrow said. “There cannot be any room in our business for people who behave in that manner.
“The measures that are put in place mean that we are able to offer a secure, safe workplace where people are respected and feel included. I hear from our people that it is working.”
Yet even before the burger boss appeared before a parliamentary committee there were widespread tales of sexual harassment at the fast-food fiefdom.
One teen named Shelby — who was 16 when she started at McDonald’s in 2022 — claimed that the sexual harassment happened “every shift.”
“They’d grope stomach, waists, bums,” she said. “Every shift I worked, there would be at least a comment being made or I’d be brushed, a hand brushed across me, or it would be a more severe thing like having my bum grabbed, hips grabbed.”
One worker in his 50s came up behind her at the counter and pulled her to his groin.
“I just froze – I felt disgusted,” she said.
For its part, McDonald’s insists it is cleaning up its act.
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“Ensuring the 168,000 people that work in McDonald’s restaurants are safe is the most important responsibility for both us and our franchisees, and we have undertaken extensive work over the last year to ensure we have industry-leading practices in place to support this priority,” a spokesperson told the BBC.
“Any incident of misconduct and harassment is unacceptable and subject to rapid and thorough investigation and action.”
McD’s added: “We are confident that we are taking significant and important steps to tackle the unacceptable behaviours facing every organization.”
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