![\"London,](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1_McDonalds-restaurant-in-London-UK.jpg\")
<\/p>\nOne of the allegations years ago related to a 17-year-old Plymouth employee, who claimed a senior manager assaulted her<\/p>\n
Husna Anjum Senior Reporter and Graham Hiscott<\/p>\n
10:12, 22 Apr 2026Updated 17:33, 22 Apr 2026<\/p>\n
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McDonald’s customers have been urged to spend Rewards points before March 17 (stock)(Image: VV Shots via Getty Images)<\/p>\n
The new boss of McDonald\u2019s admits ‘bad behaviour’ is still a problem in restaurants adding it’s ‘naive’ to deny it, despite ‘dramatic’ improvements. It comes three years after a sexual harassment scandal was first exposed at the franchise.<\/p>\n
The fast food giant was accused of having a toxic culture<\/a> in which staff as young as 17-years-old suffered a catalogue of abuse, including groping, racism, homophobia, and bullying. Many of the claims were against managers in the firm\u2019s franchisee-run restaurants.<\/p>\n Locally, in Plymouth, a 17-year-old alleged a senior manager choked<\/a> and groped her. After an initial BBC investigation in 2023, McDonald\u2019s apologised and set up a new unit to deal with complaints.<\/p>\n The Mirror<\/a> reports Lauren Schultz, chief executive of McDonald\u2019s in the UK and Ireland, claimed its processes were now \u201cbest in class\u201d. Yet she also admitted it was still having to deal with the result of what she called \u201cbad behaviour\u201d.<\/p>\n She told the Mirror: \u201cWe have a handling unit and they are tier based in terms of severity. We look into them and assess them and from there make sure that we have the right processes in place to hold people accountable if they persist.<\/p>\n Photo of McDonald’s.(Image: Getty Images)<\/p>\n “We have not seen an over abundance of them. I\u2019m not going to be naive and say we have no bad behaviour issues, but they have been dramatically reduced.<\/p>\n \u201cI think our franchisee base truly understands the policies we have. I would uphold us as best in industry at this point on our safeguarding programmes.\u201d<\/p>\n She added: \u201cThe issues that we are solving within our restaurant space aren\u2019t just McDonald\u2019s issues, I think they are systemic industry issues. Our processes, I think, make us best in class.\u201d<\/p>\n The ongoing complaints she was referring to are believed to cover topics across the aboard. The original BBC investigation included allegations from more than 100 current and recent UK staff at McDonald\u2019s outlets.<\/p>\n They included a former worker who was 17-years-old when a senior manager at a Plymouth restaurant allegedly choked her and grabbed her bottom. She says a shift manager also sent her sexually explicit images.<\/p>\n Elsewhere, a manager in Hampshire was said to have suggested a 16-year-old male worker perform sexual acts in exchange for vapes. Ms Shultz, who took over last September, was speaking as McDonald\u2019s announced the launch of what it called the UK\u2019s largest work experience programme.<\/p>\n The chain is offering 2,500 paid five-day placements in the first year to young people aged 25 and under. Ms Shultz insisted the move was not an attempt to deflect attention from the harassment controversy.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is not a rebound campaign,\u201d is how she put it. \u201cThis is something that we have been building for a year based on wanting to create experiences for young people.<\/p>\n \u201cWe know they want to get into the workplace but they can\u2019t because they haven\u2019t had that first job.\u201d<\/p>\n McDonald\u2019s already offers work experience but on a more localised basis. The new move means it is company-wide in the UK. Around 90% of its restaurants are run by franchisees who have an average seven outlets each.<\/p>\n![\"Photo](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1_McDonalds-Faces-Widespread-Accusations-Of-Bullying-And-Sexual-Misconduct-In-UK-Restaurants.jpg\")
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