The boss of McDonald’s in the UK has said he ‘cannot’ guarantee a time when there will be no allegations of sexual abuse in his business as he defended his record and denied allegations of a ‘pattern of abuse’ of vulnerable teenagers by managers.
Alistair Macrow appeared before the Commons Business Select Committee on Tuesday afternoon and claimed his reforms ‘are working’ – hours after fresh allegations of sexual harassment and abuse emerged.
But he dismissed cases of serious allegations put to him by MPs as ‘isolated incidents’ and ‘one-off cases’ carried out by ‘bad-minded people’.
It comes after 700 people aged 19 or under when working at McDonald’s joined a legal action against the company, with claims including discrimination, homophobia, racism, ableism and harassment.
Of 75 claims of sexual harassment reported to the business in the last 12 months, bosses told MPs that 47 were upheld, with 29 people dismissed.
Mr Macrow, chief executive officer of McDonald’s UK and Ireland, said: ‘Those allegations described are abhorrent, unacceptable and there is no place for them in McDonald’s. 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.’
However when challenged by Committee head Liam Byrne, Mr Macrow was unable to tell MPs how many managers had been sacked over inappropriate behaviour and admitted he could not guarantee the business would ever be ‘abuse free’.
McDonald´s said the company is ‘determined to root out’ behaviour which falls below expected standards
When questioned about when it is expected there will be zero reports of harassment at McDonald’s restaurants, Mr Macrow said: ‘I cannot guarantee a time when there will be no allegations raised.’
It came after fast-food chain McDonald’s was hit by fresh allegations of sexual and homophobic abuse this morning as staff members allege they have been ‘touched up’ by managers and offered extra shifts for sex.
The chain first faced bombshell claims of widespread sexual abuse and harassment at its stores in July 2023 and has since been reported more than 300 times for harassment to the UK’s equality watchdog.
Allegations have included racist abuse, sexual assault – including rape – and harassment and bullying.
The watchdog reportedly now intends to intervene again due to the volume of complaints, with the business mostly employing young people from the age of 16.
Employees have described a ‘toxic’ work environment with little to no protection from senior management and no response to complaints.
One female employee from the Midlands who worked at McDonald’s until May 2023 has revealed how a senior manager, who was in his 30s, asked her for sex in exchange for shifts when she was just 17.
The worker, named Claire, was employed on a zero-hours contract and relied on picking up shifts to increase her hours and earn money.
She described feeling ‘dependent’ on her managers and said: ‘You don’t expect that to happen. It was totally inappropriate.’
Responding to her case when questioned by MPs today, Mr Macrow denied that zero-hours contracts caused a power imbalance between managers and employees.
He said ‘our managers are our first line of defence against any bad behaviour,’ adding: ‘Contracts that we offer in McDonald’s, which are fair contracts, do not create any sort of systemic behaviour or issue with imbalances of power, I’m very confident of that.
‘I believe we have in place all of the right people checks to ensure managers are not using them in that way.
‘I don’t see any pattern that poor behaviour is driven by managers at all.’
He also revealed to MPs that 15 franchisees have left McDonald’s over the last five years due to underperformance.
Six of those were for failing to meet the standard for people practices, he said – although it was not clear whether these were before or after allegations first emerged in 2023.
Addressing Claire’s case specifically, he said: ‘This isn’t an issue about an imbalance of power, this is an issue of very poor behaviour of people in our organisation.
‘That behaviour is abhorrent, I want to investigate it… but that is a one-off situation.’
Other employees as young as 16 reported being bullied and yelled at, with a 20-year-old woman telling how a manager sent her topless pictures.
Another woman, who quit her job at a West Midlands branch at the end of 2023, told the BBC managers inappropriately touched her and customers harassed her.
She claims that when she reported the abuse, she was told to ‘suck it up’.
Meanwhile Matt quit his Midlands job in 2024 after being bullied and said he witnessed racist behaviour by managers.
He said he was harassed for having a learning disability and an eye condition, and claimed other colleagues were ‘scared’ to go to work.
‘It was stuff you noticed, managers and staff being racist to other staff. Managers trying to touch other staff up,’ he said.
Scotland employee Alan, 19, added he had been subjected to ‘degrading’ homophobic abuse which involved colleagues using offensive homophobic slurs, both to his face and behind his back.
He added he was told it was ‘just banter’ when he brought up his concerns, and it ‘seems like McDonald’s don’t care’.
Other employees previously told they had been groped, given sexual nicknames such as ‘McBike’ and were rated on their appearance at work on scoreboards.
It was revealed staff members would refer to employees with learning disabilities as ‘re****s’, young women were routinely groped and one store saw managers have a ‘scoreboard’ for ‘sexual conquests’.
Ilana Cole, 19, told she began working at the chain when she was 16 and was transferred from one branch in Berkshire to another. Upon starting her new role underwent an interview with a manager.
‘He started telling me about the differences between this branch and my last branch and said ‘Here we’re a lot busier, it’s like you’re getting raped up the a** everyday’,’ she told .
‘I was completely shocked that he had just said that but being 16 and naïve, I continued to accept the job offer.’
When she started working at the restaurant, she claimed matters only got worse. She alleged that she was ‘groped’ by a manager and saw other young women also sexually harassed. She claimed managers discriminated against staff with disabilities and, in her opinion, treating some crew differently because of their nationality.
She said the manager ‘would get really close behind the younger girls almost pressed right against their back, constantly getting close to the girls and deliberately brushing his hand against their waist or bum, which he did to me too.’
At other points, she spoke to other unhappy staff members, including a man from Romania who she claimed only ever worked on the ‘fries station’ and ‘was completely covered in burns and scars that were never reported’. Ms Cole believes he was treated differently because of his nationality.
She added: ‘I never complained about the behaviour as all of the managers were best friends with each other, so a complaint wouldn’t get very far.’
Mr Macrow previously told MPs in November 2023: ‘I am absolutely determined to root out any of these behaviours, to identify individuals who are responsible for them and make sure they are eradicated from our business.
‘When I became aware of them in the summertime, with the BBC reporting, I immediately took action to start to make a difference.’
Liam Byrne, chair of the Business Select Committee, told the BBC the situation was ‘appalling’.
‘There is a clear pattern of abuse here that suggests that McDonald’s has become a hotbed of harassment and it’s incredibly serious,’ he said.
‘And when the boss of McDonald’s came before us last year he promised that he would root out this problem and it’s quite clear that he’s failed.’
A McDonald’s spokesperson told it has carried out ‘extensive work over the last year to ensure we have industry leading practices in place’ to keep staff safe.
They continued: ‘Our relentless focus on eliminating all forms of harassment at McDonald’s is led by a newly created team and informed by the experience and guidance of external experts. Working at speed they have already rolled-out company-wide programmes to improve safeguarding, drive awareness and enhance training.
‘We have also recruited our first Head of Safeguarding and in addition to the four speak up channels already available, and have introduced a new, easy to use, digital speak-up channel, Red Flags.’
They added: ‘Additionally, the Investigations Handling Unit, led by its newly appointed Director and drawing on independent legal experts, is dedicated to rooting out any behaviour that falls below the high standards we demand of everyone at McDonald’s.
‘McDonald’s agreement with the EHRC was signed in early 2023, with the intention that it continues to evolve to ensure the robust measures we have in place are aligned with any updated guidance.
‘We are confident that we are taking significant and important steps to tackle the unacceptable behaviours facing every organisation.’