With complaints against the fast-food chain for sexual harassment multiplying in recent years around the world, McDonald's has just signed a legally binding agreement with the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), the UK government body responsible for enforcing the Equality Act. Through this agreement, the UK’s equality watchdog will be able to verify that the US giant is really working to protect staff from sexual harassment and it will take legal action if this is not the case.
This legally binding agreement is a ‘section 23 agreement.’ Section 23 agreements are one of the weapons in the EHRC’s arsenal the watchdog can use to force businesses of all sizes to improve equality in their organisation. The agreement signed with McDonald’s, which employs over 120,000 people in the UK in 1,300 restaurants and franchises, expects the company to :
- communicate a zero tolerance message on sexual harassment,
- conduct an anonymous employee survey on workplace safety,
- strengthen company policies and procedures to prevent sexual harassment and improve its response to complaints,
- implement anti-harassment training,
- introduce training and materials to help managers identify departments at risk and take action to prevent sexual harassment,
- fund these policies, training initiatives and materials within its franchises, and,
- monitor overall progress on workplace safety, respect and inclusion.
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