A Midlands McDonald’s employee alleges bullying linked to his learning disability amid a harassment scandal involving numerous young workers.
Birmingham: A McDonald’s worker in the Midlands has come forward, saying he faced bullying because of his learning disability and an eye condition. This comes as the fast-food chain deals with a wave of harassment claims from over 700 young employees.
The allegations hit the news on January 7, just as the UK’s CEO, Alistair Macrow, was about to face tough questions from MPs about employment rights. So far, more than 450 McDonald’s locations are involved in these serious accusations, which include discrimination and harassment of various kinds.
A 19-year-old named Matt shared with the BBC that his coworkers were scared to go to work, and some even faced inappropriate touching from managers. Another former employee, Claire, revealed a shocking incident where a shift manager tried to trade sex for more work hours when she was just 17.
Another young worker reported dealing with homophobic comments from both managers and crew members, feeling like he couldn’t speak up about it. He mentioned that his manager told him to just leave if he couldn’t handle the comments, which included slurs that made him really uncomfortable.
Matt, who quit last year, also mentioned witnessing racist behavior from managers and staff. He felt that the workplace culture was toxic, with inappropriate physical contact happening too often.
Lawyers from Leigh Day are looking into claims from young workers who faced sexual harassment and inappropriate questions about their personal lives. Some reports even mention managers making racist remarks about employees based on their backgrounds.
One worker said they heard their disability being mocked, which is just heartbreaking. McDonald’s, a major employer in the UK, has a workforce where the average age is just 20, making these allegations even more concerning.
This situation follows a previous BBC report where workers spoke out about various forms of harassment and bullying, prompting McDonald’s to hire consultants to audit their restaurants.
Leigh Day believes that even if workers haven’t directly experienced harassment, they might still be eligible to file claims due to the overall culture of inappropriate behavior.
