Allegations of sexual harassment, racism and bullying made by dozens of McDonald's workers are "personally and professionally shocking", the quick meals chain's UK boss has stated.

Alistair Macrow, the chief government of McDonald's within the UK and Ireland, has vowed to place measures in place to analyze complaints.

"We have clearly fallen short in some critical areas and I am determined to root out any behaviour or conduct that falls below the high standards of respect, safety and inclusion we demand of everyone at McDonald's as detailed in our global brand standards," he added.

It comes after the BBC printed claims made by greater than 100 present and former staff - with staff as younger as 17 alleging they had been groped and harassed commonly.

One teenager stated she had suffered racial abuse, and an older colleague had allegedly requested her whether or not he might present her his penis.

While one other former employee claimed a senior supervisor had choked her and grabbed her backside.

Allegations had been made throughout the UK, with one Oxfordshire worker who was initially from India claiming that colleagues spoke "gibberish" to mimic her.

The BBC additionally reported that male managers at a Welsh department joked about placing money bets on which ones might sleep with a brand new recruit first - whereas over in Northern Ireland, there was apparently an outbreak of gonorrhoea at a restaurant the place sexual relationships between workers had been frequent.

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McDonald's has now confirmed a brand new unit is being established to crack down on sexual harassment and bullying. It will probably be run by HR and authorized professionals.

"Any substantiated breaches of our code of conduct will be met with the most severe measures up to, and including, dismissal," Mr Macrow added.

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External consultants are additionally going to be employed to look at the workers complaints course of, amid allegations that points weren't correctly escalated.

"I will make sure that everyone is in no doubt of my own unequivocal insistence on zero tolerance of harassment of any kind and to ensure our non-negotiable message of respect and inclusivity is heard clearly throughout our business," Mr Macrow stated.