Young female staff make more abuse claims against McDonalds

EXCLUSIVE: ‘I was told that boobs sell burgers’: Young female staff at McDonald’s make more complaints of sexual harassment and abuse, as they claim they were groped, called ‘McBike’ and managers rated their appearances on kitchen ‘scoreboards’

• Dozens of former McDonald’s workers have approached MailOnline with claims 
• Are you a victim of assault, racism or bullying? Send your story and pictures to [email protected] 

McDonald’s is facing fresh allegations of sexual harassment, bullying and discrimination today with more young staff coming forward with shocking claims.

MailOnline has been contacted by dozens of current and former workers from the fast-food giant, some as young as 16, who have claimed to have been put through horrendous ordeals at the hands of branch managers.

Some claimed how managers would have a ‘scoreboard’ in staff rooms where they would rate female workers appearances, and they would tally up the number of sexual conquests they had with staff members.

Others claimed that the phrase ‘boobs sell burgers’ would be flung around to justify only hiring ‘pretty young girls’ while men were kept working in the back.

Another added that girls were labelled ‘the McBike’ if they appeared to have dated or had sexual relationships with members of staff.

Concerned parents of teens working in the franchises up and down the country claimed that those with autism or disabilities were treated differently or spoken to in a derogatory manner.

One mother said her son, who still works at the chain, was referred to ‘as the retard’ and would be ‘sent home as soon as any higher managers visited the store’.

Another concerned mother whose child worked at a different branch was forced to make a complaint after she claimed a teenage transgender girl was bullied by a staff member, telling her ‘it’s not natural’.

The fresh allegations come after the BBC launched an investigation into McDonald’s with 200 staff members, both former and present, launching allegations of sexual assault, harassment, racism and bullying.

Are you a victim of assault, racism or bullying? Share your story by emailing [email protected]

New allegations made to MailOnline include: 

• One staffer with autism was referred to ‘as the retard’
• Managers groping younger female workers by ‘their waist or bum’
• Instances of homophobia, transphobia and racism 
• Young female employees told to serve customers as ‘boobs sells burgers’ 
• Staff member told working at McDonald’s is like ‘being raped up the a** everyday’ 
• Managers having a ‘scoreboard’ count ‘sexual conquests’ they had with staff 

Ilana Cole, 18, alleged that she was ‘groped’ by a manager and saw other young women also sexually harassed

One victim, a 16-year-old worker called Shelby who left a Berkshire restaurant last year, spoke out on BBC Breakfast, claiming to have had similar experiences of older male colleagues groping female staff

Hundreds of former and current staff members, as well as worried parents, have come forward to voice concerns about the culture at McDonald’s 

Ilana Cole, 18, is just one of around 200 staff members who has spoken out in recent days.

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 MailOnline.

‘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.

McDonald’s employs more than 170,000 people in the UK across 1,450 restaurants. It has one of the country’s youngest workforces with 75 per cent of its employees being between 16 and 25 years old 

‘When I saw the story on the news, I wasn’t even a little bit surprised. If anything, I was surprised it took so long for people to come out about the abuse as this has been going on for years.’

McDonald’s employs more than 170,000 people in the UK across 1,450 restaurants. It has one of the country’s youngest workforces with 75 per cent of its employees being between 16 and 25 years old.

Others who decided to come forward with complaints about sexual harassment felt their concerns were completely ignored by management teams.

One young female worker, who asked to remain anonymous, recently worked in two branches in Kent. She told MailOnline: ‘Myself and many of the other girls, some as young as 16, told mangers and made reports that drivers made sexual comments towards us and were harassing.

‘Managers dismissed these claims and did not follow up on reports. When I spoke up about feeling unheard, unprotected and lied to, as they said they would follow up and nothing happened, the main manager of a few branches called me into his office.

READ MORE: Fast-food giant is forced to sign contract with equality watchdog after ‘more than 1,000 complaints’ of workplace sexual harassment in UK branches

‘I was fired because I spoke up and said I felt harassed and targeted. McDonald’s do not deal with situations correctly.’

Former staff claimed the ‘toxic’ culture at the food giant ‘has been embedded for a long time’.

One woman who started working at a branch when she was 16-year-old appearances and would tally up ‘the number of sexual conquests they had with staff members’.

Another staffer, who worked at a branch in Portsmouth, Hampshire, for a decade, said on her first day a girl was ‘bawling her eyes out’ after a shift manager had called her a ‘fat sl**’.

She said the term ‘boobs sell burgers’ was bounced around to justify only hiring ‘pretty young girls’, usually school leaders, and scheduling them only for customer facing roles, with the men and boys generally kept out of sight in the kitchen.

The woman added that girls were labelled ‘the McBike’ if they appeared to have relationships with members of staff.

A former worker corroborated this, adding: ‘Girls were always put on the tills to entice men to come in and the guys were put in the kitchen – it was all about attractiveness and getting more customers in the door.’

Parents of youngsters working at the chain have also voiced their concerns.

One concerned mother whose son has autism still works at McDonald’s. She alleged that her son is a ‘good worker’ but he used to be referred to as ‘the retard’ and get sent home as soon as any higher managers visited the store.

A second parent, whose son has Aspergers and still works at the restaurant, claims that he is constantly sworn at and called derogatory names by managers, adding that there is a ‘total bullying culture’ within the store.

Alistair Macrow, McDonald’s boss in the UK, issued an apology after the BBC found that more than 100 current and former staff at the fast food chain alleged they had been harassed

Some staff members claimed how managers would have a ‘scoreboard’ in staff rooms where they would rate female workers appearances, and they would tally up the number of sexual conquests they had with staff members. Pictured: General view of McDonald’s store 

Another worker said a colleague with Downs Syndrome was ‘never given any other tasks than to pick up litter and take out the bins’.

One parent of a 17-year-old said her son quit working in the store because even though they paid well, he could no longer work in such a ‘toxic environment.’

At the branch he worked in, staff members were allegedly racist towards members of the public, telling junior staff members ”you can deal with them, I’m not’ when black people walked in’.

The mother said that a transgender girl was also bullied by a staff member, telling her ‘it’s not natural’ and claimed there were instances of homophobia. She eventually made a complaint to the franchise owner over the bullying she witnessed.

Another 100 McDonald’s staff come forward to claim they were groped, sexually harassed and even witnessed some managers taking COCAINE at the fast food giant 

She told MailOnline: ‘He got someone to investigate after about a year of nothing, she didn’t even interview or talk to any of the witnesses she emailed to say the investigation is all finished after interviewing all witnesses, which is untrue, apparently using their external legal team.

‘No apology, no explanation of findings. Nothing.’

Alistair Macrow, CEO of McDonald’s for UK and Ireland told MailOnline ‘there are clearly instances where we have fallen short and for that we deeply apologise’.

He added: ‘Every one of the 177,000 employees in McDonald’s UK deserves to work in a safe, respectful and inclusive workplace. There are clearly instances where we have fallen short and for that we deeply apologise.

‘There is simply no place for harassment, abuse, or discrimination of any kind at McDonald’s – and we will investigate all allegations brought to us, and all proven breaches of our code of conduct will be met with the most severe measures we can legally impose, up to and including dismissal.

‘In February this year McDonald’s UK committed with the Equalities and Human Rights Commission to a zero-tolerance approach to any kind of harassment. This is supported by a companywide programme of training, the roll out of new policies and strict reporting processes, all aimed at offering the highest possible level of workplace protection for all our employees.

‘Already over 2,000 of our managers have completed full awareness training and nearly all of our restaurant teams are now working within these new protections aimed at creating a safe and respectful workplace.

‘All of this is backed by McDonald’s Global Standards, a set of stringent and non-negotiable guardrails to ensure safe and respectful workplaces, which we expect of all colleagues and Franchisees across the world.’

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak last night that the allegations from McDonald’s staff were ‘deeply concerning’ 

Caroline Nokes, chair of the Women and Equalities Select Committee, said the claims were ‘horrific’

In regards to the specific allegations brought to this news site, he said: ‘We take all allegations extremely seriously and will investigate any that are brought to us thoroughly. All proven breaches of our code of conduct will be met with the most severe measures we can legally impose, up to and including dismissal.’

The BBC released details of its investigation yesterday, documenting appalling claims of harassment and bullying.

One victim, a 16-year-old worker called Shelby who left a Berkshire restaurant last year, spoke out on BBC Breakfast, claiming to have had similar experiences of older male colleagues groping female staff.

She added: ‘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.’

Speaking on BBC Breakfast this morning, Shelby explained the affect the alleged behaviour had on her wellbeing.

She said: ‘It really started to affect me especially towards the end of me working there.

‘I was calling in sick for pretty much all my shifts and then I left suddenly without giving them notice and I never heard back from them. I did send an email explaining why I left but they never got back to me.’

Another worker, 17, who worked at a branch in Cheshire, told the BBC she was sexually and racially harassed by a much older male colleague. She raised the concerns with a female employee who allegedly told her to ignore it and get back to work.

But after months of harassment, her stepfather wrote to the franchise, the corporate headquarters and the police, resulting in the man being fired.

The young employee believes nothing would have been done if her family did not intervene.

The probe forced the UK equality watchdog to launch a new email hotline after it became ‘concerned’ by the findings, which also documented abuse of power.

READ MORE HERE: McDonald’s faces Me Too moment: Fast food giant is hit by allegations of sexual assault, racism and bullying

 

Allegations from the broadcaster’s initial investigation were branded ‘deeply concerning’ by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak last night, with other government officials and MPs also expressing their anger.

Caroline Nokes, chair of the Women and Equalities Select Committee, said the claims were ‘horrific’ and were about abuses of power where ‘older managers exploiting what is, at McDonald’s, a very young workforce’.

Darren Jones, a Labour MP and chairman of the Commons business committee, said the claims were ‘some of the most appalling’ he had seen.

He added that McDonald’s should terminate franchise deals if branches were not following labour law correctly.

The complaints come just months after the chain signed a legal agreement with the equality watchdog amid concerns over how it handled sexual harassment complaints made by UK staff.

It made the legally binding agreement with the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) in February, meaning the restaurant group needed to commit to a number of measures to better protect workers.

At the time, it was unknown the true scale of sexual harassment complaints at McDonalds, but the Bakers, Food and Allied Workers Union (BFAWU) claimed in 2019 that more than 1,000 UK cases have been reported.

The complaints come just months after the chain signed a legal agreement with the equality watchdog amid concerns over how it handled sexual harassment complaints made by UK staff.

It made the legally binding agreement with the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) in February, meaning the restaurant group needed to commit to a number of measures to better protect workers.

At the time, it was unknown the true scale of sexual harassment complaints at McDonalds, but the Bakers, Food and Allied Workers Union (BFAWU) claimed in 2019 that more than 1,000 UK cases have been reported.

Baroness Kishwer Falkner, chairwoman of the EHRC, said: ‘There should be zero tolerance of sexual harassment in every organisation. I’m concerned at these new reports of harassment at McDonald’s, where we have an existing legal agreement in place to ensure their restaurants are safe places to work.

‘McDonald’s have committed to make improvements to set an example for others to follow, in the hospitality industry and elsewhere.

‘Every employer, no matter how big or small, is responsible for protecting its workforce. We’re determined to continue to crack down on illegal harassment at places of work.’

Anyone who is concerned about incidents of harassment in McDonald’s can report it to [email protected].

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