UK NCP accepts complaint against McDonald’s UK over gender-based harassment, offers mediation

The UK National Contact Point (NCP) has accepted a complaint against McDonald’s Restaurants Limited (MRL) alleging failures to address gender-based violence and harassment in its UK restaurants and has offered mediation to the parties. The decision, published in an Initial Assessment on 7 January 2026, opens a non-judicial route that could shape company practice even as employment tribunal claims proceed.

The complaint was first raised on 28 February 2024 by a coalition of five trade unions and the Corporate Justice Coalition. The UK NCP said it will offer mediation “pursuant to Section 4 of the UK NCP’s Procedures for Dealing with Complaints” and that the mediation’s scope “will cover only the 13 paragraphs of the OECD guidelines accepted by the UK NCP at the initial assessment stage.” The NCP was careful to note that accepting the complaint “is not a finding against MRL and does not mean that the UK NCP considers that MRL has acted inconsistently with the OECD guidelines.”

McDonald’s Restaurants Limited responded in the Initial Assessment by clarifying its corporate and franchise relationships. MRL stated that “MRL is a wholly owned market of US‑based multinational enterprise McDonald’s Corporation operating in the UK” and that “franchisees in the UK are the owners of their restaurant(s) and make all employment decisions in their businesses, consistent with applicable local law and McDonald’s standards”. MRL raised concerns that issues relating to franchisees fall outside the UK NCP complaint process.

That jurisdictional dispute sits alongside parallel legal action. Law firm Leigh Day represents “more than 700 junior current and former crew members” from “over 400 restaurants” in employment tribunal claims alleging harassment, discrimination and unsafe working environments. Leigh Day’s employment partner Kiran Daurka said: “The complaint from the trade union organisations and CJC mirrors concerns raised by our clients in the Employment Tribunal. Our clients are waiting for their claims to be heard and for decisions to be taken by the Tribunal which may compensate them for the alleged distress that they suffered while employed at McDonald’s. Some of our clients, who were as young as 16 and 17 at the time of their employment, have raised allegations of serious sexual harassment and inadequate provisions to safeguard against predatory behaviour. To date, McDonald’s has continued to deny any shortcomings in its policies and practises and has failed to acknowledge any responsibility in respect of the claims brought against its franchises. We hope any government mediation also addresses pressing concerns over the franchise model which seeks to absolve the brand from employment law breaches committed by its franchisees. Our clients argue that franchisees are joint employers with McDonald’s and both are liable for breaches of equality law.”

McDonald’s public statements acknowledged the issue while reserving judgment on the IA. “Young employees should be safe at work, and we will take action for those who have been exposed to or who have experienced an unsafe or hostile working environment,” the company said. A McDonald’s spokesperson added, “We are aware of the NCP’s initial assessment and continue to engage constructively with the OECD process. We are reviewing the information and considering next steps.”

The case joins wider international scrutiny of McDonald’s operations. Separate complaints handled by other NCPs have involved investors and alleged global failures of due diligence, and earlier actions in the Netherlands filed in 2020 raised similar issues linked to investor conduct.

For crew members and union organisers, the NCP’s mediation offer creates a parallel forum to employment tribunals that could secure brand-level reforms if parties engage. The Initial Assessment signals possible dialogue but limits mediation to specific OECD-guideline provisions, and questions over franchise responsibility remain central. The next developments to watch are whether MRL accepts mediation, whether mediation will address franchise liability, and how tribunal proceedings evolve for the hundreds of claimants already pursuing legal claims.