McDonald's slammed as 'predator's paradise' by MP after new worker harassment allegations emerge
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Fast food giant McDonald’s has been accused of being a “predators’ paradise” after new allegations about young workers being harassed by managers emerged. Alistair Macrow was grilled by MPs on the Commons Business and Trade Committee as part of a wider investigation into worker rights. It came on the day fresh damning allegations came to light surrounding McDonald’s managers’ treatment of teenage workers in the UK, including claims of “sex for shifts”.
Liam Byrne, chair of the committee, put it to Mr Macrow: “Has McDonald’s become a predators’ paradise?” He went on: “This kind of abuse flourishes where there is an imbalance of power in the workplace.”. Mr Macrow insisted that much had happened since he last appeared before the committee in late 2023: “I have put in place a programme of significant change which has seen us strengthen our standards,” adding “it is working.” He called the allegations “abhorrent and unacceptable and there is no place for them in McDonald’s. The measures we have put in place mean that we have and are able to offer a safe workplace where people are respected and feel included. I hear that from our people - it is working.”.
He told MPs that McDonald’s had investigated 75 allegations, of which 47 had been upheld, and 29 people being dismissed. Mr Macrow insisted the allegations were “not widespread, there are isolated.” But Mr Byrne hit back, saying: “It doesn’t sound like these are isolated incidents. It sounds like there is a pattern of abuse in what has become a hotbed for harassment”.
