MORE than 700 young workers have filed a lawsuit against McDonald's UK, alleging harassment, law firm Leigh Day announced on Tuesday.
The claims follow a 2023 media investigation that exposed widespread issues within the company.
The law firm is pursuing compensation for current and former employees who were under the age of 20 while working at McDonald's.
Leigh Day stated in a press release that the allegations involve more than 450 restaurants across the UK.
“Clients have described experiences of discrimination, homophobia, racism, ableism, and harassment,” the law firm said. The lawsuit builds on a BBC investigation in July 2023 that highlighted testimonies from affected employees.
McDonald's, one of the largest employers in Britain with approximately 170,000 staff, has faced significant scrutiny over the allegations. Many of its workers are young, including teenagers.
“These allegations described are abhorrent, unacceptable, and there is no place for them in McDonald's,” Alistair Macrow, CEO of McDonald's UK and Ireland, told MPs on Tuesday during a hearing on employment rights.
Macrow revealed that 29 workers were dismissed over sexual harassment allegations in the past year and stated that the company had created a specialist unit to investigate such cases.
Speaking to a parliamentary committee in November 2023, he said he was “absolutely determined to root out any of these behaviours.”
Despite these measures, unions informed the same committee that the situation has not improved. McDonald's also said it has implemented a confidential online reporting system for employees at both company-owned and franchised restaurants.
A 19-year-old employee quoted in Leigh Day’s statement shared their experience: “I’ve had to deal with homophobic comments from managers and crew members. My manager said if I can’t deal with it, I should just leave the job.”
The law firm also cited other incidents, including one worker being repeatedly pestered for sex and another alleging inappropriate physical contact by a manager during shifts.'
McDonald's faced similar allegations in 2019, when the Bakers, Food and Allied Workers Union claimed that over 1,000 female employees had experienced sexual harassment and abuse.
A 21-year-old transgender woman has been convicted of sexual assault in northeast England.
Ciara Watkin did not disclose her gender status before engaging in sexual activity with a male partner.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said the man could not give informed consent.
Watkin was found guilty on three charges at Teesside Crown Court.
Sentencing is scheduled for 10 October.
A transgender woman has been convicted of sexually assaulting a male partner after failing to disclose her gender status before sexual activity. Prosecutors argued that the man could not give informed consent, and the case has been described as having a significant impact on his mental wellbeing.
The case
Ciara Watkin, 21, from Stockton-on-Tees, met the man, also 21, on Snapchat in June 2022. She later engaged in sexual activity with him without revealing her gender status. During their first encounter, she told him she was on her period and could not be touched below the waist.
A few days later, they met again, after which Watkin blocked contact before later messaging him to disclose that she was transgender and had male genitalia.
Prosecution statement
Senior Crown Prosecutor Sarah Nelson said: “It is clear from the evidence in this case that, prior to engaging in sexual activity with the victim, Watkin had made no attempt to inform him of her transgender status. The victim has made clear in police interview that he would not have engaged in sexual activity had he known that Watkin was transgender and, consequently, these events have had a significant impact on his mental wellbeing.”
Defence argument
Watkin admitted lying about her gender status but denied wrongdoing. Her lawyers argued in court that it would have been “blindingly obvious” to the man that she was not biologically female, according to the BBC.
Verdict and sentencing
Following a trial at Teesside Crown Court, Watkin was convicted of two charges of sexual assault and one charge of assault by penetration. She will be sentenced on 10 October.
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Authorities said most of the 52 passengers were from India, China and the Philippines
A tourist bus returning from Niagara Falls overturned on a motorway in western New York.
Five people died and dozens were injured; passengers were mainly from India, China and the Philippines.
Authorities ruled out mechanical failure and driver impairment as causes.
Survivors included children, with patients taken to multiple hospitals.
Emergency blood donations and family support centres have been set up.
Five people have been killed after a tourist bus carrying passengers from Niagara Falls overturned on a motorway in western New York. Authorities said most of the 52 passengers were from India, China and the Philippines, with several children among them.
The crash
The vehicle lost control around 40 miles (64km) from Niagara Falls, near Pembroke, 30 miles (48km) east of Buffalo. Police said the bus veered into the median before landing in a ditch. Some passengers were thrown from the vehicle while others were trapped inside the wreckage for several hours.
Investigation
New York State Police confirmed that neither operator impairment nor mechanical failure caused the crash, though the investigation remains ongoing. The driver has been cooperative and no charges have been filed. Authorities have appealed for dashcam footage from passing motorists.
Passengers and casualties
The passengers ranged in age from one to 74. Twenty-four adults were admitted to one local hospital and are expected to recover. Children under 16 were transferred to a specialist children’s hospital. Translators and translation devices were brought in to help victims and their families.
Witness accounts
Local witness Powell Stephens told The Buffalo News: “There was glass all over the road and people’s stuff all over the road. Windows were all shattered. Everyone seemed conscious and OK, but I only saw the scene for about 15 seconds.”
Community response
ConnectLife, a regional blood provider, issued an emergency appeal for donations, calling the situation “a crisis.” The Red Cross has also opened a family reunification centre to help reconnect children and parents taken to different hospitals.
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Members of the public outside Whitechapel Underground Station on February 12, 2025 in London. (Photo: Getty Images)
LONDON Underground staff will stage a series of rolling strikes for seven days next month in a dispute over pay and working conditions, the RMT union said on Thursday.
The walkouts will begin on September 5 and involve different groups of staff taking action at different times. The dispute covers pay, shift patterns, fatigue management and plans for a shorter working week, according to the RMT.
Separately, workers on the Docklands Light Railway will also strike in the week beginning September 7. The DLR connects Canary Wharf and the City of London.
RMT General Secretary Eddie Dempsey said, "Our members ... are not after a King's ransom, but fatigue and extreme shift rotations are serious issues impacting on our members health and wellbeing."
He added that the union would keep engaging with London Underground in an effort to reach a negotiated agreement.
(With inputs from agencies)
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Protesters from the group Save Our Future & Our Kids Future demonstrate against uncontrolled immigration outside the Cladhan Hotel on August 16, 2025 in Falkirk, Scotland. (Photo: Getty Images)
MINISTERS will appeal a court decision earlier this week that barred the UK government from accommodating asylum seekers in a hotel, security minister Dan Jarvis said on Friday (22).
The high court on Tuesday (19) granted a temporary injunction to stop migrants from staying at the Bell Hotel in Epping, northeast of London, following several weeks of protests outside the hotel, some of them violent.
There were protests after a resident was charged with sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl.
Jarvis said on Friday, "We've made a commitment that we will close all of the asylum hotels by the end of this parliament, but we need to do that in a managed and ordered way.
"And that's why we'll appeal this decision."
A total of 111,084 people applied for asylum in the UK in the year to June 2025 - the highest number ever.
Latest official data showed there were 32,345 asylum seekers being housed temporarily in UK hotels at the end of March.
It was under the previous Conservative government that migrants were accommodated in hotels.
Jarvis said, "This government will close all asylum hotels and we will clear up the mess that we inherited from the previous government.”
Since Tuesday's injunction, a number of councils across the country controlled by Labour, the Conservatives and Reform UK have also said they are mulling legal challenges to block the use of hotels in their areas.
Prime minister Sir Keir Starmer has pledged to end the costly practice of housing the thousands of asylum seekers arriving in small boats in hotels around the country, but has said it will be done in a gradual manner.
Immigration has overtaken the economy as the number one issue for the British public, according to at least two regular trackers of voters' concerns.
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Khan, 72, in a social media post following the verdict, said the end of the 'night of oppression' in his country was near. (Photo: Getty Images)
PAKISTAN's Supreme Court on Thursday granted bail to former prime minister Imran Khan in eight cases linked to the May 9 violence.
The violence erupted on May 9, 2023, when Khan’s supporters engaged in vandalism and rioting after his detention by law enforcement in Islamabad. Multiple cases were registered against Khan and leaders of his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party for their alleged involvement.
A three-member bench of the apex court, headed by Chief Justice Yahya Afridi, granted bail after hearing arguments from Khan’s lawyer Salman Safdar and Punjab Special Prosecutor Zulfiqar Naqvi, who represented the state.
Khan, 72, in a social media post following the verdict, said the end of the “night of oppression” in his country was near.
“My message to the entire nation, to my workers and to the party leadership is that your captain is still standing tall with his head held high. Have no fear," Khan said.
“We must not, under any circumstances, bow our heads down before tyranny and oppression. Remember -- no matter how long and dark the night may be, dawn is certain to break. The end of this night of oppression is near. God willing, the sun of justice and freedom will soon rise," he said.
PTI welcomed the ruling with the hashtag “Victory For Imran Khan” on X. Its international spokesman Zulfiqar Bukhari said Khan now required bail in just one case.
“Supreme Court has granted bail to Imran Khan for May 9th cases, now bail is needed for just one more case (Al Qadir case) for Mr Khan to come out of jail,” he said.
Bukhari added that despite the relief, Khan would not be released because of his conviction in the Al-Qadir Trust case.
Khan had earlier filed a bail petition before a Lahore anti-terrorism court in cases related to the May 9 riots, including the attack on the Lahore corps commander’s residence, but it was dismissed in November 2024. His plea was later rejected by the Lahore High Court on June 24 this year. Khan then challenged the decision in the Supreme Court.
The former prime minister continues to face multiple other cases filed against him after his ouster from office in April 2022. He has been imprisoned since August 2023 and is serving a sentence in the 190 million pounds Al-Qadir graft case at Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi.