McDonald's UK & Ireland releases statement over allegations of sexual assaults in the workplace

CEO Alistair Macrow released the statement after a query by QSR Media.

Alistair Macrow, CEO of McDonald’s UK & Ireland has released a statement after a BBC report said that there was an alleged "toxic culture of sexual assault, harassment, racism and bullying" in the fast-food giant's outlets.

Find the full statement of McDonald's below:

“Every one of the 177,000 employees in McDonald’s UK deserves to work in a safe, respectful and inclusive workplace.  There are clearly instances where we have fallen short and for that we deeply apologise.

 “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.

“In February this year McDonald’s UK committed with the Equalities and Human Rights Commission to a zero-tolerance approach to any kind of harassment. This is supported by a companywide programme of training, the roll out of new policies and strict reporting processes, all aimed at offering the highest possible level of workplace protection for all our employees.

“Already over 2,000 of our managers have completed full awareness training and nearly all of our restaurant teams are now working within these new protections aimed at creating a safe and respectful workplace.

 “All of this is backed by McDonald’s Global Standards, a set of stringent and non-negotiable guardrails to ensure safe and respectful workplaces, which we expect of all colleagues and Franchisees across the world.”