McDonald's still has 'bad behaviour' after sexual harassment scandal, says boss

McDonald's still has 'bad behaviour' after sexual harassment scandal, says bossMcDonald's is now "best in class" at dealing with complaints by workers, insists new UK boss, after fast food giant was rocked by damning allegationsMoneyGraham Hiscott Business and Consumer Editor00:01, 22 Apr 2026View 2 ImagesMcDonald's set-up a new unit to handle worker complaints amid sexual harassment controversy (Image: AFP via Getty Images)The new boss of McDonald’s in the UK admits it is still getting complaints from workers three years after a sexual harassment scandal was first exposed.‌The fast food giant was accused of having a toxic culture in which staff as young as 17 suffered a catalogue of abuse, including groping, racism, homophobia, and bullying. Many of the claims were against managers in the firm’s franchisee-run restaurants.‌After an initial BBC investigation in 2023, McDonald’s apologised and set up a new unit to deal with complaints.‌American Lauren Schultz, chief executive of McDonald’s in the UK and Ireland, claimed its processes were now “best in class”.Yet it came as she also admitted it was still having to deal with the result of what she called “bad behaviour”. She told the Mirror: “We have a handling unit and they are tier based in terms of severity.View 2 ImagesThe deal is only available on September 18(Image: PA)‌READ MORE: Ex-McDonald's chef shares Big Mac sauce recipe — and there's no tomato sauce in itREAD MORE: McDonald's hires humanoid robots to serve customers and carry trays of fast food“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. We have not seen an over abundance of them. I’m not going to be naive and say we have no bad behaviour issues, but they have been dramatically reduced.“I think our franchisee base truly understands the policies we have. I would uphold us as best in industry at this point on...