Over 700 U.K. McDonald's Workers Planning Legal Action Against Chain amid Allegations of 'Widespread Harassment,' Law Firm Says

01/07/2025 02:31 PM

"Clients have described experiences of discrimination, homophobia, racism, ableism, and harassment," legal firm Leigh Day claimed in a news release obtained by PEOPLE

• Over 700 current and former U.K. McDonald's employees are taking legal action against the chain amid harassment allegations, legal firm Leigh Day confirmed in a news release obtained by PEOPLE
• The BBC first started investigating the fast food company's alleged workplace misconduct allegations in 2023
• Some workers taking action against the chain are as young as 19 years old, Leigh Day stated

Hundreds of former and current McDonald's employees in restaurants across the United Kingdom are planning legal action against the fast food chain amid ongoing workplace misconduct allegations.

The BBC first launched an investigation into the alleged "toxic culture of sexual assault, harassment, racism and bullying" at the company in February 2023, before reporting on some of the findings that July.

More than a year later, U.K. legal firm Leigh Day — which has been instructed to act on behalf of the workers — said in a Tuesday, Jan. 7, news release obtained by PEOPLE that "more than 700 clients aged 19 or younger when working at" the chain were taking action over "allegations of widespread harassment."

"Speaking to the firm's dedicated McDonald's claims team, clients have described experiences of discrimination, homophobia, racism, ableism, and harassment," the legal firm said, per the release.

The legal firm stated that over 450 of McDonald's U.K. restaurants had been implicated in the claims so far, per the release.

McDonald's didn't immediately respond when contacted by PEOPLE for comment.

One 19-year-old Leigh Day client, who is still working at one of the U.K. branches, claimed, "I've had to deal with homophobic comments from managers and crew members — I feel as though I can't speak to any managers about it," according to the release.

"My manager said if I can't deal with it, I should just leave the job. Things said to me shouldn't be said to anyone. These comments make me feel really uncomfortable — I hate working there," they added, per the legal firm.

On Jan. 7, McDonald's U.K. CEO Alistair Macrow faced questions about the complaints by U.K. Members of Parliament (MPs) on the business and trade committee, insisting of the huge number of people taking action, "One case is too many as far as I am concerned," per the BBC.

Macrow called the alleged cases "abhorrent, unacceptable, and there is no place for them in McDonald's," the BBC reported, and said 29 people had been dismissed from restaurants over the past 12 months amid sexual harassment allegations.

According to Leigh Day's release, other examples of harassment at the company allegedly include "a young worker [who] was repeatedly pestered for sex" and "a young worker" being "asked by their manager how many people they had slept with," as well as a manager reportedly touching "young staff inappropriately on their shifts," among other allegations.

A spokesperson for the U.K.'s Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) said in a statement obtained by PEOPLE, "We are actively working with McDonalds to strengthen our ongoing legal agreement in light of the number of serious allegations raised about the company over the last year."

"Our confidential email hotline gave us vital intelligence that we are using to carefully shape these discussions, and we are grateful to those who came forward to report incidents of harassment," it added.

"We are confident that McDonald's will take up our recommendations when these new amendments are announced, and our priority remains ensuring that McDonald's improve their practices and that their staff are protected from sexual harassment," the statement concluded.

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EHRC first entered into a section 23 agreement with the chain in February 2023. "By agreeing to a section 23 agreement, an organization commits to not breaching equality law, usually in a specific area where there have been previous concerns," the EHRC website stated.

Per the McDonald's website, the company "has more than 1,450 restaurants across the U.K. and Ireland and employs more than 135,000 people."

Following the 2023 allegations, Macrow said in a statement on the chain's website, "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."