McDonald’s employees are standing against sexual harassment in the workplace and the massive fast food chain’s failure to deal with the issue, The Guardian reported.
McDonald’s has now signed a legally binding pledge with the UK equality watchdog over how it has handled, or not handled, sexual harassment complaints.
There have been complaints by workers for several years. The exact number is not made available to the public, but four years ago, it reached 1,000.
The Bakers, Food and Allied Workers Union (BFAWU) brought the issue to the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC).
Now McDonald’s has to be committed to a number of measures to better protect workers in the UK.
The EHRC says that it does not enter these agreements lightly.
The agreement covers all franchised restaurants in the United Kingdom, but does not include chains in Ireland or overseas, such as in the U.S.
Measures include communicating a “zero tolerance” approach to sexual harassment, providing anti-harassment training for its employees, and improving policies to better respond to complaints.
The sexual harassment charges included physical and verbal harassment and, in some cases, retaliation when they complained.
The BFAWU has previously raised the alarm over a “toxic culture” in restaurants and stated that at least 1,000 women have been harassed by managers and supervisors.
The equality watchdog will now monitor McDonald’s to check if it is complying with the law. If it finds evidence it is not, it will investigate.
The EHRC says it is responsible for enforcing the Equality Act 2010, which makes employers legally responsible if an employee is sexually harassed at work by a colleague, and the employer has not taken all steps they could to prevent it from happening.
The issues are not only tied to the UK. It is also a massive issue in the United States. Workers in several U.S. cities staged a strike in 2018 to protest against the fast-food giant’s alleged failure to prevent sexual harassment at work.
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