Name: McDonald's faces new crackdown on sexual abuse | BBC News
Uploaded: 2025-11-11T07:44:41.000Z
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McDonald's will bring in new sexual harassment training for managers in strengthened measures agreed with the Equality Watchdog to protect its staff from abuse.

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It comes after a BBC investigation two years ago was told that workers as young as 17 were being groped and harassed almost routinely.

McDonald said that the new measures would build on the significant progress we've already made in this space.

McDonald's does 100% have a problem with sexual harassment.

It's just a disgusting behavior and it's meant to be a friendly environment.

And it's not teenagers speaking up about their experiences working at McDonald's.

During a months long BBC investigation into the company in 2023, more than 100 McDonald's workers told us they faced a culture of sexual harassment, bullying, abuse.

The BBC first started investigating working conditions at McDonald's after the company signed an agreement with the Equality Watchdog.

Now the watchdog is intervening again with a new set of measures aimed at protecting McDonald's staff from sexual abuse.

I think the fact that the commission has had to come back to McDonald's and its franchises to strengthen and extend the agreement suggests that perhaps McDonald's hasn't done enough already in the last two years to comply with what the commission wanted it to comply with.

The strengthened steps include new sexual harassment training for managers and franchisees, fees, focusing on the grooming of young workers and bringing in an external body to review whether it is handling sexual harassment claims appropriately.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission said it needed to agree stronger actions with McDonald's, but

was pleased with the steps the company was now taking.

But one former McDonald's employee who spoke up as part of our initial investigation said she didn't think it would make a difference.

They've looked at what they can possibly do in terms of what will sound promising enough but not will actually bring change.

And I don't think they actually have any personal desire to make the change.

I think this is again reiterating my point.

It's a checkbox for them to tick, just like with the training and you know, it's something on a to do list and they think they'll do it and it'll go away, but

The chief executive of McDonald's has twice been called into Parliament to answer questions about the claims of abuse uncovered by the BBC.

Those allegations described are abhorrent, unacceptable and there is no place for them in McDonald's.

Today, McDonald's said that alongside its franchisees, it has embedded an extensive set of robust and far reaching initiatives to ensure a safe working environment.

It said it welcomed the new measures which would build on the significant progress it has already made in this space.

It also said it was confident the measures they have already implemented are working and making a difference.