McDonald’s UK increases employee discount prices after decade review, staff react online

McDonald’s UK said it reviewed its Employee Discount Scheme for the first time in 10 years and “made a small increase to the prices,” a company spokesman said, adding the changes came as food costs continued to rise and that staff still have access to exclusive app offers. The Sun reported the cost changes took effect last August.

FoodBible set out specific examples, saying the breakfast bundle moved from £1.99 to £2.99 and a staff “value meal” went from £2.29 to £3.29; FoodBible calculated those rises as roughly 50.25 percent for the breakfast and about 43 percent for the value meal. The Sun and Birmingham Live published similar £2.99 breakfast figures, but The Sun also carried at least one excerpt and headline that mentioned a £3.99 price for extra value meals and suggested increases “by up to 75 per cent,” creating conflicting post-change price reports across outlets.

Operational details reported alongside the pricing changes point to continued on-shift benefits and limited extra-cost usage. The Sun and LatestDeals said employees still receive a free meal during shifts and can use their employee discount twice per day, while McDonald’s noted staff can also access “exclusive offers through the My McDonald’s App.” The Sun added corporate context, reporting McDonald’s UK posted £120m in profit in 2024 and opened 43 new franchise stores in 2025.

Frontline staff publicly questioned the move. A worker at a branch in Bournemouth, Dorset told The Sun, “It’s really annoying because we’re paid minimum wage. These meals, how cheap they were, meant we could cut a food shop down and save money by eating at McDonald’s outside of work. Obviously it’s still a great deal, but it feels annoying that when McDonald’s knows everyone’s bills are up, they’d add to that for their staff.” Birmingham Live quoted another staffer saying, “Some of the prices are up by nearly double, which when it’s £2 or £3 more doesn’t feel like a lot, but it adds up.” Online comment threads captured in The Sun included users BonzoBanana and TheChimp posting strong reactions.

External commentators framed the change in terms of impact on low-paid workers. Tom Church, Co-Founder of LatestDeals.co.uk, said, “When you’re on minimum wage, small price rises feel big very quickly. Staff discounts can make a genuine difference to monthly budgets, especially for young workers. It’s always worth employees checking exactly what perks they’re entitled to and making full use of them to stretch their pay further.”

Separately, HR Magazine described the wider staff-benefits platform: it said Asperity Employee Benefits rolled out a new scheme in March that integrates with the ourlounge.co.uk site, and that “over 60% of its 80,000 staff have registered” with “over half of our 80,000-strong workforce logging on every day,” plus employee spend milestones topping £2 million. That 80,000 staff figure differs from The Sun’s 170,000 UK staff number cited in coverage of the discount-price changes, and outlets also differ on exact post-review meal prices.

McDonald’s spokesman reiterated the company’s position on value and access for employees: “We are committed to making sure our employees have access to great-value food that we are proud to serve. Last year, as food costs continued to rise, for the first time in 10 years we reviewed our Employee Discount Scheme and made a small increase to the prices. We remain proud to offer our employees good‑value discounts, alongside exclusive offers through the My McDonald’s App.” FoodBible has contacted McDonald’s for further comment.