McDonald's worker says bosses failed to sack colleague who groped her on the job

11 February 2023 , 21:08

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Bobbie Moore was 19 when she was allegedly locked in a McDonald's office

A former McDonald’s worker said bosses failed to sack a ­colleague who groped her despite CCTV evidence of the attack.

Bobbie Moore, 20, said she felt worthless after a male colleague locked her in an office and touched her without permission.

Security camera footage appears to show a man with his hands on her bottom. She reported the groper to bosses but they failed to take adequate action and the man was allowed to resign.

The case emerged days after McDonald’s announced a drive to protect its workers from sexual assault.

More than 1,000 sexual harassment claims were made by workers at the fast food chain’s UK outlets in 2019, according to the Bakers, Food and Allied Workers Union.

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The terrifying ordeal happened to Bobbie, then 19, at a branch in Beckton, East London, last summer.

The claim came after the fast food chain was rapped for its failure to deal with sexual harassment at work

She said: “McDonald’s put the blame on me. They made me feel worthless.”

Bobbie said she went into the office to clean a burn on her leg.

She said: “I told [him] to leave the office but he locked the door. He watched me take my trousers off and asked for a hug. Then he touched my bum and I froze.

“It wasn’t the first time. People saw him grab me and smack my bum. They didn’t do anything.”

When Bobbie complained to branch managers, she said they only offered to issue a warning to the colleague, who quit four days later.

She said she was asked to sign a legal agreement promising not to tell anyone, including police, adding: “McDonald’s treated me like rubbish over the fact I got assaulted.”

The woman said she felt worthless after the incident

In November, Bobbie said managers rebuffed her again when a male colleague slapped her bum. She claims one boss then told her: “Maybe you shouldn’t wear such a tight uniform.”

Bobbie, who no longer works at McDonald’s, said she is considering reporting the sexual harassment claims to the police.

The chain this week signed a deal with the Equality and Human Rights Commission to better protect its employees from sexual harassment.

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A McDonald’s spokesman said: “We were extremely disappointed to learn about this incident...

"We have long-standing policies, procedures and training in place specifically designed to prevent sexual harassment and robust processes to handle any allegations.

Bobbie Moore said she felt worthless (Phil Harris)

She reported the groper to bosses but they failed to take adequate action (Phil Harris)

"While we do not comment on the specifics of this situation, we are satisfied it was dealt with in line with those policies and the correct steps taken to address this issue.”

But BFAWU boss Ian Hodson said: “McDonald’s is toxic from top to bottom.”

In 2019, McDonald’s boss Steve Easterbrook was fired for having a relationship with an employee.

Ben Turner