McDonald’s Set to Strengthen Safeguarding Measures: What This Means for Workplace Safety
McDonald’s has agreed to implement stronger protections for its UK workforce following renewed scrutiny and legal pressure over widespread allegations of sexual harassment and misconduct. The fast-food giant will introduce enhanced safeguarding policies, new reporting systems, and improved training after cases emerged of staff (many of them young workers experiencing harassment, abuse, and retaliation when speaking up).
This move follows an external review, union pressure, and legal representation for employees who reported being let down by internal processes and managerial culture.
Why It Matters
Workplace harassment is not simply a compliance issue - it is a safety issue, an equality issue, and a wellbeing issue. When staff feel unsafe or unheard:
Confidence in employers collapses
Retention and morale plummet
Vulnerable workers, especially young women, become disproportionately affected
Sectors with large youth workforces - retail, hospitality, fast food - require particularly robust protections. A workplace should never be somewhere someone feels at risk.
What This Means for Workplace Safety
Clear reporting pathways: McDonald’s has committed to strengthening internal reporting mechanisms, giving staff more accessible, confidential ways to raise concerns.
Independent oversight: The company will work with external partners to ensure investigations are properly handled and not influenced by internal relationships or power imbalances.
Cultural reform: Staff training on harassment, boundaries, and respectful conduct will be expanded, with the aim of shifting workplace culture, not just updating documentation.
Protecting young workers: With many McDonald’s employees under 18 or early in their working lives, the measures recognise the additional responsibility employers have to safeguard inexperienced or vulnerable staff.
Wider industry implications: Fast-food and retail employers are now under growing expectation to demonstrate active, preventative safeguarding, especially since the Worker Protection Act places a legal duty on employers to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment.
imabi’s View
Employers cannot rely on policies alone - they must build cultures where staff feel safe, supported, and able to speak up without fear.
At imabi, we believe this requires:
Accessible, anonymous reporting tools, so no one fears retaliation
Strong leadership accountability, backed by clear processes
Regular training tailored to real workplace scenarios
Digital visibility, ensuring staff know their rights and available support
Proactive safeguarding, not reactive damage control
Platforms like imabi Pro help organisations meet their legal and moral duties by bringing together reporting, prevention, and wellbeing in one safeguarding-led workforce ecosystem.
Workplace safety is non-negotiable and strengthening protections is a responsibility every employer must take seriously.