• McDonald's is facing fresh scrutiny over sexual harassment claims in its UK restaurants.
• Hundreds of workers are taking legal action against the chain, a law firm said this week.
• McDonald's says ensuring staff are safe at work is its "most important responsibility."

Hundreds of McDonald's workers in the UK are taking legal action over claims of workplace bullying and harassment.

Law firm Leigh Day said this week that over 700 people who work at or have previously worked at 450 different McDonald's locations across the UK have joined the proceedings.

All the workers were 19 or under when working at McDonald's, Leigh Day says.

News of the legal action comes as the BBC published fresh claims of workplace harassment at the fast-food giant, around 18 months after a major investigation into the working culture at the Golden Arches.

The BBC investigation, published in July 2023, revealed that over 100 workers at a number of the Golden Arches locations had spoken of experiencing sexual assault, harassment, racism, or bullying. Since that investigation, 160 more people have approached the BBC with allegations, it reported on Tuesday.

The BBC's latest report on harassment and abuse at the fast-food behemoth comes over a year after its UK boss pledged to take action to improve working conditions.

Starting in February 2023, after the fast food chain signed an agreement with the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) promising to protect its staff from sexual harassment, the BBC spoke to staff about the working environment at McDonald's.

Of the over 100 allegations the BBC heard prior to publishing its initial 2023 investigation, 31 involved sexual assault, 78 involved sexual harassment, 18 were related to racism, and 6 were related to homophobia.

Alistair Macrow, the CEO of McDonald's UK and Ireland, told Members of Parliament in November 2023 that the company had received 407 complaints from employees since that July. He said it was taking steps to better protect staff.

Since the BBC's initial investigation in July 2023, 300 reports alleging harassment at the chain have been made to the EHRC.

"Ensuring the 168,000 people that work in McDonald's restaurants are safe is the most important responsibility for both us and our franchisees," McDonald's said in a statement sent to Business Insider.

"We have undertaken extensive work over the last year to ensure we have industry leading practices in place to support this priority. Any incident of misconduct and harassment is unacceptable and subject to rapid and thorough investigation and action."

Macrow, the UK McDonald's boss, said that 29 people have been fired over incidents involving sexual harassment in the past year.

The BBC heard that one woman said her shift manager, who was in his 30s, asked for sex in exchange for extra shifts when she was a 17-year-old employee. Another female staff member, who was 20 at the time, said her male manager sent her topless photos. A 19-year-old employee alleged he was bullied for having a learning disability and an eye condition, per the BBC.

McDonald's rolls back some DEI efforts

News of fresh claims of staff harassment in the UK comes in the same week that McDonald's announced plans to scale back its diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts.

McDonald's said in a statement on Monday that it will stop "setting aspirational representation goals," pause participating in external surveys, no longer require its supply chain to commit to its DEI pledge and change the name of its diversity team to the Global Inclusion Team.

A growing backlash against DEI strategies has seen companies such as Nissan, Walmart, and Harley-Davidson scale back or cut programs altogether.

Much of the criticism has come from high-profile figures like Elon Musk and conservative activist Robby Starbuck, who have labeled such initiatives as "woke."

• McDonald's Snack Wraps are set to return to US menus in 2025.
• The cult-favorite menu item was launched in 2006 and discontinued in 2020.
• This announcement comes in the wake of the deadly E. coli outbreak in October linked to Quarter Pounders.

Fans of McDonald's Snack Wrap, rejoice — the fast-food giant is finally bringing the popular menu item back.

On Thursday, Joe Erlinger, the president of McDonald's US, confirmed on "Good Morning America" that the Snack Wrap will return next year.

"It has a cult following. I get so many emails in my inbox about this product," Erlinger said.

McDonald's Snack Wraps — chicken, lettuce, and cheese wrapped in a tortilla — were launched in 2006. In 2008, the company even enlisted supermodel Heidi Klum to star in a promotional campaign for the item.

The fan-favorite food was removed from national menus in 2016. Although franchisees could still choose to serve the Snack Wraps, they often complained that the wraps took too long to make, Bloomberg reported in 2015.

The Snack Wrap was officially discontinued in the US in 2020 as part of a menu simplification.

However, different variations of the Snack Wrap are still available on some international menus.

The Snack Wrap's return to US menus comes after years of online petitioning by fans — including one on Change.org that's been signed by over 18,000 people.

However, the exact launch date of the Snack Wrap remains unclear; Erlinger declined to share specifics while on the show.

"I'm not going to tell you exactly when in 2025 for competitive reasons," he said.

The announcement also comes in the wake of a deadly E. coli outbreak in October linked to slivered onions served on McDonald's Quarter Pounders.

About a week after reports of the outbreak emerged, the company said that its daily sales had dipped.

"We saw that shift to kind of having daily negative sales and guest count results since the beginning of the food safety incident," CFO Ian Borden said during the company's third-quarter earnings call on October 29.

In November, CNN reported that the fast-food giant was investing $100,000,000 to lure customers back to its restaurants. Thirty-five million of the investment will go toward marketing, while $65,000,000 will be spent on the franchisees that were worst affected by the outbreak.

A representative for McDonald's did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent by Business Insider outside regular hours.