The head of McDonald’s in the UK apologised after the BBC on Tuesday reported allegations of sexual misconduct, racism and bullying by staff at the fast-food giant.
More than 100 former and current workers of the US company had made the allegations, the state broadcaster said after it began investigating in February.
This was after McDonald’s signed a legally-binding agreement with Britain’s Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), pledging to protect staff from sexual harassment.
“Every one of the 177,000 employees in McDonald’s UK deserves to work in a safe, respectful and inclusive workplace,” its UK chief executive Alistair Macrow told the BBC in response to the allegations.
“There are clearly instances where we have fallen short and for that we deeply apologise.”
He added that “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”.
The EHRC said it was “concerned” by the allegations, which it would examine “in the context of our current legal agreement with McDonald’s to tackle sexual harassment of staff in its restaurants”.
