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McDonald’s has agreed another set of measures with Britain’s equality watchdog to protect the fast food chain’s employees from sexual harassment.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) originally signed a legal agreement with McDonald’s to stop sexual harassment in 2023, following concerns about how complaints made by staff at UK restaurants are handled.
The original agreement was set to expire in 2025, but it has now been strengthened and extended by at least a year.
In March, the regulator was forced to write a letter to McDonald’s UK franchise owners, warning them they could face legal action if they failed to comply.
The EHRC said on Friday it needed to agree “stronger action” with McDonald’s, but was pleased with the steps the group is now taking.
Earlier this year, more than 700 people who were 19 or younger when they worked at the law firm directed McDonald’s. leh day To take legal action on their behalf.
By February, more than 450 McDonald’s restaurants were implicated in claims, which described discrimination, homophobia, racism, ableism and harassment.
Baroness Kishwar Faulkner, chair of the EHRC, said: “We originally signed a legal agreement with McDonald’s to stop sexual harassment in 2023.
“After serious allegations were made, we decided we needed to update the action plan with stronger actions that are more specific to the way McDonald’s operates.
“We are pleased by the important steps McDonald’s has taken towards a safe working environment for its employees and recognize the hard work they have done so far.
“Once completed, the actions creating this legal settlement will ensure that McDonald’s has zero tolerance for harassment and that there are clear pathways to reporting and resolving complaints if it occurs.”
The strong steps McDonald’s must take under the new agreement include working with external experts on a new safety plan to protect vulnerable workers, which will be rolled out in McDonald’s restaurants; Ensuring that complaints against managers are investigated outside the restaurant; Hiring an external auditor to audit McDonald’s new complaints management unit and expanding training for managers and franchisees to cover social media and grooming.
McDonald’s is one of Britain’s largest employers, employing more than 170,000 people across its 1,450 restaurants.
The fast food giant says the average age of its employees is 20 years old.
Legal claims proceed separately BBC Report in 2023, in which workers spoke of sexual assault, harassment, racism and bullying in the workplace.
This prompted McDonald’s to bring in consultants from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) to audit its restaurants.
A McDonald’s spokesperson said: “Over the past three years, together with our franchisees, we have developed a comprehensive set of strong and far-reaching initiatives as part of our steadfast commitment to ensuring a safe working environment in McDonald’s restaurants.
“We welcome the fact that these measures have been formalized under the latest EHRC agreement.
“This will build on the significant progress we have already made in this area.
“The agreement incorporates many of our existing measures which have been developed in consultation with leading experts.
“We are confident that the measures we have implemented are working and making a difference to the 148,000 people employed by McDonald’s and our franchisees across the UK today.”