McDonald’s UK Publishes Modern Slavery Statement, Expands Worker Protections

McDonald’s UK has published an updated Modern Slavery Statement that outlines how the company will work to identify and prevent modern slavery and human trafficking throughout its restaurants and suppliers. The document presents a multipronged approach that combines training, on site engagement, supplier expectations, and new measurement tools aimed at embedding awareness across the workforce.

At the center of the policy is what the company describes as an "always on" approach to training for employees and franchise partners. That approach includes plans for large scale in person training rollouts targeted at key employees, and the development of e learning modules designed to reach a broader cross section of the workforce. The statement also details ongoing worker awareness campaigns and an intention to include modern slavery awareness metrics in the company wide people engagement surveys, creating a mechanism to track how well training and outreach are landing with workers.

The policy extends beyond training. McDonald’s says it will continue worker wellbeing visits at both company owned and franchised restaurants. Those visits are positioned as direct channels for workers to raise concerns and for the company to assess conditions at the front line. The statement further sets expectations for franchisees and suppliers to participate in prevention efforts and to align with the company protocols on worker welfare and supply chain transparency.

For employees, the new commitments could mean more routine education on signs of exploitation, clearer avenues for reporting concerns, and greater visibility of corporate compliance efforts in everyday operations. For franchise partners, the drive to standardize training and to add awareness metrics to engagement surveys creates added pressure to implement consistent practices and to allow corporate led visits and audits.

The statement signals a shift toward more formalized monitoring and measurement of modern slavery risks within a large and complex restaurant network. How franchisees and suppliers respond to the increased oversight will determine whether the measures strengthen protections for workers in practice.