After media expose, McDonald's chief accepts fast-food giant faces one-two sex abuse complaints every week

Fast-food chain McDonald’s boss in Britain has said that it faces “one to two” sexual harassment allegations from workers every week, vowing that he will address the problem soon. Alistair Macrow, chief executive of McDonald’s UK and Ireland, told a watchdog parliamentary committee that the chain’s management also receives around five weekly reports of bullying. Macrow said that complaints from employees of alleged sexual harassment and bullying are “truly horrific and hard to listen to”. It follows the BBC reporting in July numerous allegations of sexual misconduct, racism and bullying by staff at McDonald’s outlets in Britain. The company says it has dismissed 18 employees and taken 75 disciplinary measures, after examining 157 reported cases, since the scandal emerged. Some 249 cases remain to be investigated, it has said. Leigh Day, a law firm, has launched legal action against the US fast-food giant after BBC exposed it with accusations that included employees’ claims they were “groped and harassed almost routinely”. According to the British broadcaster, McDonald’s UK opened a specialist unit to investigate the allegations, which stemmed from the accounts of around 100 staff. Appearing before lawmakers in parliament, Macrow reiterated that he was “absolutely determined to root out any of these behaviours”. He also pledged to identify the accused individuals and “eradicate them from our businesses.” The Bakers, Food and Allied Workers Union alleged four years ago that more than 1,000 female employees of the fast-food giant were victims of sexual harassment and abuse. This year’s BBC investigation revealed that many female employees under the age of 18 reported being sexually or emotionally harassed. With inputs from AFP