McDonald’s manager indecent exposure allegations

A former McDonald’s employee has come forward about a manager of a South London branch of McDonald’s, regarding indecent exposure allegations from events in 2018.

Christine, who chose to put a face to her name, had been working for the company since 2011. She stated that a manager “pulled his pants down” in front of her in a stockroom while she was on shift, which she said left her “terrified”.

This story came to light after McDonald’s agreed to work with the UK equality watchdog after concerns were raised over how sexual harassment complaints were handled within the company.

It’s unclear just how many sexual harassment complaints McDonald’s has received within the UK, but in 2019 the Bakers, Food and Allied Workers Union (BFAWU) which represents company employees, stated that it had received 1,000 of them.

After the union raised concerns, McDonald’s has now signed an EHRC (Equality and Human Rights Commission) agreement which it, according to a BBC source, ‘did not enter into agreements lightly.’

Christine added “I saw a lot of things that were not okay,” stating that she experienced a toxic work culture in her time there, with managers allegedly flirting with junior staff, and one other manager who liked “touching everyone’s bum”. One manager regularly came up to her and said “inappropriate things”.

She tried to keep the situation under control by speaking to other colleagues to intervene. Eventually suffering from panic attacks, she then started on a course of antidepressants just to help get her through the working day. “How do you expect to work when you’re having a panic attack? You can’t breathe, your heart’s racing and you’re terrified.” 

“You don’t want this person to come up to you doing or saying anything. You would assume that they get the message when you say no, but they just think it’s okay. They don’t see what they’re doing to you.”

After Christine’s own experience in the stockroom, a business manager told her to resume her duties in the kitchen with the offending employee. When she objected, she was told to call the police if she had an objection.

She then walked out of the store and never returned, describing the whole ordeal as “one of the worst experiences of my life. You should not have to go into work feeling anxious or scared…you need that job to pay your bills and to keep a house going but at what price.”

A McDonald’s spokesperson stated that Christine’s experiences were “completely unacceptable and have no place in our restaurants.”

The equality watchdog will now be monitoring McDonald’s to see if it is complying with the law. If this does not seem to be the case, it will investigate.

Further reading

Bullying and harassment at work – Oakwood Solicitors

WHAT TO DO NEXT

Get in touch today for a no-obligation consultation. Choose one of the methods on the right-hand side of this page, or call us on 0113 200 9720 to find out how we can help you with your enquiry.