Human Rights

We strive to weave human rights into McDonald’s day-to-day practices, helping us fulfill our commitment to respect the rights of all people and communities who produce, serve and enjoy our food.

Our Human Rights Commitment

Our commitment to respect human rights is set out in our Human Rights Policy (PDF – 120 KB). The policy is in line with the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs). We respect rights and principles as outlined in the International Bill of Human Rights and the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women and the Convention on the Rights of the Child. We are also signatories to the Women’s Empowerment Principles.

We developed, and periodically reassess, our Human Rights Policy through extensive consultation, benchmarking against leading industry peers and referring to best practice guidance from third-party experts and stakeholders. Based on these periodic assessments, as well as learnings from our ongoing due diligence work, we evolve our polices as needed to reflect the latest insights.

Understanding the McDonald’s System

We are one of the world’s leading foodservice retailers, with over 2 million people working in McDonald’s franchised restaurants, and over 150,000 Company employees working in the Company’s corporate offices and Company-owned and operated restaurants.

The McDonald’s System also relies on strong supplier relationships, prioritizing those that meet our expectations of respecting fundamental rights for all people. We utilize strong, long-term supplier relationships to help enforce adherence to our Supplier Code of Conduct and associated guidance, which mandates that our suppliers respect human rights and promote their employees’ health and safety.

Our Policies and Standards

Our commitment to respect people and their rights, and our expectations for suppliers and Franchisees to do the same, is outlined in several documents. Together, these standards, principles and policies reinforce a culture of integrity and respect, forming the foundation of our efforts to feed and foster communities worldwide.

Applicable Throughout McDonald’s Corporation and Its Majority-Owned Subsidiaries

Applicable Throughout the Company and McDonald’s Restaurants

Responsible and Ethical Recruitment Principles (PDF – 205 KB)*

Applicable Throughout McDonald’s Restaurants

Global Brand Standards*

Applicable Throughout McDonald’s Supply Chain

Supplier Code of Conduct (PDF – 1.4 KB)*
Supplier Workplace Standards and Guidance Document (SWSGD)*
Commitment on Forests and Natural Ecosystems (PDF – 126 KB)*
Supporting Addendum for Commitment on Forests (PDF – 491 KB)

*Includes guidance specific to populations most vulnerable to human rights violations, such as migrant workers and young workers.

Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups

As part of our efforts to promote respect for human rights through our standards, we have specifically set policies and guidance to help address and protect populations that may be most vulnerable to human rights violations. This includes, among other groups, migrant workers, Indigenous Peoples, women, children, refugees and displaced populations.

Migrant workers: Our Responsible and Ethical Recruitment Principles are established standards to prevent the exploitation of migrant workers and ensure responsible recruitment for this population at all McDonald’s restaurants. Responsible recruitment requirements are also embedded in our Supplier Code of Conduct and SWSGD to ensure migrant workers within our supply chain are safeguarded.

Young workers: McDonald’s believes in creating work opportunities for young workers. We recognize the risk of child labor extends across our System. In response, we have adopted measures to mitigate such risks, including practices and protocols specifically for employing young workers at all McDonald’s U.S. Company-owned and operated restaurants and the provision of training to Franchisees. McDonald’s also requires Franchisees to comply with all applicable laws. For the supply chain, we created an updated remediation protocol in our SWSGD relating to child labor. Developed in consultation with external parties, including nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), the protocol is focused on safeguarding young workers’ rights.

Indigenous Peoples: Through our Commitment on Forests and Natural Ecosystems (PDF – 126 KB) and its Supporting Addendum for Commitment on Forests (PDF – 491 KB), McDonald’s sets out our vision for sourcing activities across all priority commodities and every sourcing region, covering both direct and indirect suppliers. Importantly, this commitment extends beyond forests to other areas of high conservation value, helping safeguard the people and communities globally who depend on these natural spaces. We expect our global suppliers to operate their businesses in a way that respects human rights and the rights of all affected communities – including Indigenous Peoples – that may be impacted by our supply chain.

Gender and Ethnicity: To do our part in preventing human rights violations related to Women and Employees from Underrepresented Groups¹ across our System, we have set out several policies focused on preventing harassment and discrimination. This includes our Global Statement of Principles Against Discrimination, Harassment and Retaliation, as well as our Global Brand Standards that are intended to ensure the safety and well-being of all workers and customers across our more than 40,000 restaurant locations.

Our Strategy

McDonald’s has developed an approach that focuses on issues relevant to its business, embeds key activities to help address those issues within McDonald’s corporate functions and market operations and provides flexibility to respond to emerging human rights-related trends and business priorities.

Regardless of cultural, social or economic context, we conduct our activities in a way that respects the dignity of each person. To maintain relevant policies and practices, we work to identify and understand the human rights issues that are most important to our business.

Foundational to our human rights approach are the UNGPs. The UNGPs outline that businesses should demonstrate respect for human rights through five key steps, which the McDonald’s approach is aligned with:

Policy and Governance
Human Rights Due Diligence
Integrate Findings
Track and Report
Provide Effective Remedy

As well as our Human Rights Policy, McDonald’s wider human rights approach has been developed and informed by third-party human rights assessments, ongoing analysis of the emerging business and regulatory landscape on human rights, and extensive consultation with subject matter experts (SMEs) across the business.

As we continue to evolve our human rights approach, we’re committed to employee and stakeholder engagement to inform our own policy and influence change elsewhere.

Governance of Respect for Human Rights

Organizations with Responsibility for Human Rights

Global People and Global Supply Chain functions are responsible for McDonald’s day-to-day human rights performance. Human rights professionals in the Sustainability & Social Impact team within the Global Impact function play a key coordinating role and manage a cross-functional Human Rights Working Group that meets quarterly, as well as on an ad hoc basis as needed.

McDonald’s internal Human Rights Working Group is a cross-functional team comprising team members from Supply Chain, Compliance, Franchising, Legal, Marketing, Operations, People, Public Policy, Safety, Security, Sustainability & Social Impact, with responsibility for informing, implementing and championing our approach to human rights.

The executive sponsors of the Human Rights Working Group are our Global Chief Impact Officer, Global Chief People Officer, Global Chief Supply Chain Officer and Global Chief Legal Officer.

The CEO and Senior Leadership team have oversight of human rights policies, commitments and management, as well as of Enterprise Risk Management, which may include specific human rights issues. The Board Committees have oversight of human capital management, including human rights.

Human Rights Discussed by Senior Management and Board

The Human Rights Working Group and executive sponsors report to the CEO on human rights risks and share relevant updates to the Board Committees.

The Corporate Responsibility Committee assists the Board of Directors in fulfilling its oversight responsibility through monitoring company culture, human rights management, including workplace safety, and DEI progress. The Corporate Responsibility Committee Charter (PDF – 100 KB) outlines the Committee’s principal responsibilities, including reviewing and monitoring of the Company’s strategies and efforts to address human rights.

As part of this remit, senior management and relevant Board Committees are kept informed of human rights related assessments, findings and intended disclosures including the identification and management of human rights focus areas.

Identifying Human Rights Focus Areas

McDonald’s conducted due diligence (including assessments) in 2021‒2022 to identify its human rights focus areas, listed in alphabetical order, not in order of perceived importance.

Child Labor
Data Privacy
Discrimination and Harassment
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Education and Employment Creation
Effective Remedy
Forced Labor
Freedom of Association and Collective Bargaining
Land Rights
Nutrition
Occupational Health and Safety
Working Conditions
Workplace Security

The human rights focus areas were identified using:

A global human rights assessment
A human rights impact assessment at farm level
Additional materiality assessments
Media monitoring
Tracking emerging trends
Consultation with SMEs across the business
Engagement with external human rights experts, suppliers and other stakeholders

The process for conducting the global human rights assessment included engagement with more than 80 SMEs across the McDonald’s System; a review of relevant policies and protocols; a focused assessment on responsible recruitment; a benchmarking assessment; and a focus area assessment across potential human rights impacts.

When identifying human rights focus areas, McDonald’s considered a wide range of potential impacts by looking at relevant business activities and those rightsholders who may be impacted. Rightsholder groups in scope include but are not limited to corporate-level employees, restaurant workers, delivery drivers, supply chain workers (inclusive of transportation and logistics, on-site contractors), customers and local communities. Also in scope are specific populations with potential for increased vulnerability, including women, migrants, ethnic and religious minorities and people living with disabilities. Within scope of all assessment activities, McDonald’s seeks to prioritize rightsholders who could be most impacted by McDonald’s and its business partners’ activities.

As a critical component of how we manage human rights, McDonald’s is committed to periodically engaging with relevant internal and external stakeholders regarding our approach to human rights.

Managing Human Rights Focus Areas

McDonald’s has several internal mechanisms by which we can track and assess performance across human rights focus areas in restaurants, which include but are not limited to: Operations PACE Running Great Restaurant and Putting People First visits, listening to employee feedback and customer-facing surveys. We periodically complement these tools with third-party services and other methods for heightened human rights due diligence.

McDonald’s has a comprehensive Supplier Workplace Accountability (SWA) program to support compliance with standards and expectations outlined in our Suppler Code of Conduct. The program aims to help suppliers understand our expectations and verify compliance. We provide education and capacity development resources for our suppliers through our SWA program, which facilitates the development of training materials tailored to gaps identified through routine audits and trend monitoring. These materials are tailored to meet needs unique to regions and commodities and are translated into the most appropriate languages.

The SWA program engages several social compliance auditing firms around the world who conduct on-site audits of supplier facilities, worker housing and cafeterias. They also interview workers and review facility records and business practices. These audits investigate such concerns as recruitment fees, discrimination, wrongful confiscation of personal documents and other human rights considerations that McDonald’s seeks to eliminate from its supply chain. Further, they scrutinize supplier compliance with each aspect of the Code, such as verifying that all workers are of legal age to work. If an underage person is hired, for example, suppliers must support remedial solutions that serve the child’s best interests.

1. Child Labor

Child labor is defined as work that deprives children of their childhood, their potential and their dignity, and that is harmful to physical, social or mental development and/or that interferes with their schooling. Age limits for work are determined by reference to applicable law and the type of work involved.

McDonald’s recognizes the risk of child labor extends across our System and in response we have adopted measures to mitigate these risks, which are periodically evaluated. In addition, McDonald’s recognizes those who are eligible to work, otherwise known as young workers, need positive and safe job opportunities; McDonald’s believes in creating these types of opportunities for young workers.

For Company Employees and Franchisees

We believe it’s important that restaurant leaders have the resources needed to foster a culture of safety for employees and to maintain compliance with all labor laws. By adopting and sharing good practice guidance, McDonald’s serves as a model, and encourages its Franchisees to consider leading practices.

For example, U.S.-based Franchisees are encouraged and supported by optional live learning to do the following, to the extent permitted by applicable law:

Have written policies and procedures regarding proper practices for employing young workers.
Regularly engage with managers about such policies and procedures to help them feel comfortable with execution.
Regularly engage with employees so they are aware of applicable restrictions and limitations.
Regularly self-audit to help ensure employees are not working too many hours in a day or week.
Use signage to indicate equipment that may not be appropriate for employees under a certain age.
Use distinct hats or shirts to help easily indicate which employees have age-based restrictions.
Obtain any necessary state-level work permits and/or send appropriate notification letters (for example, to the employee’s school district) and keep them on file.

In addition to routinely sharing good practice guidance, McDonald’s has conducted optional live learning sessions with our U.S.-based Franchisees, and offers optional training on employing young workers, accessible anytime via their learning platform.

For Suppliers

McDonald’s Supplier Code of Conduct states that suppliers shall ensure no underage labor, as defined in the Code, has been used in the production or distribution of their goods or services. McDonald’s Supplier Workplace Standards and Guidance Document (SWSGD) requires that suppliers prohibit young workers (considered to be between the ages of 15 to 18) from performing any work which, by its nature or the circumstances in which it is carried out, is likely to harm their health or safety.

McDonald’s SWSGD also includes a protocol regarding employing young workers and immediate corrective actions that should be taken should underage labor be identified. This child labor remediation protocol was developed with support from third-party experts and includes guidance around conducting root cause investigation, creating time-bound remediation plans and ongoing support and monitoring. When needed, McDonald’s can leverage third-party support on behalf of its suppliers through its membership with the Centre for Child Rights and Business.

In response to worrying trends associated with migrant child labor in U.S. supply chains, McDonald’s partnered with other members of AIM-Progress, a forum of leading consumer goods companies focused on promoting responsible sourcing practices. Together, we commissioned the organization Verité to develop and provide training and remediation guidance for U.S.-based suppliers on systems and practices that will help prevent risks to vulnerable workers, including children.

We periodically evaluate ways to strengthen our auditing process. In 2023, for example, McDonald’s engaged third-party supplier auditors to conduct night shift audits at select facilities in the U.S. to help increase visibility and oversight.

2. Data Privacy

Data privacy is defined as the way in which personal information is collected, accessed, secured, stored, used, shared with others and otherwise processed. Personal information generally means information that identifies or can reasonably be linked to an individual. Data privacy and protection laws, which vary by country, are designed to help protect personal information.

McDonald’s respects the personal information of all individuals, whether a customer, employee or an employee of Franchisees and suppliers. We seek to comply with all applicable data privacy and protection laws through our Information Governance program that consists of policies, standards, procedures and guidelines and incorporates both regulatory and ethical considerations. These policies include the McDonald’s Global Customer Privacy Statement.

Like all McDonald’s governance and guidance, our data privacy policies, standards, procedures and guidelines will continue to evolve with the changing regulatory and technological environment.

3. Discrimination and Harassment

Discrimination is treating someone or a group of people differently because of certain characteristics, including sex, ethnicity, gender identity, military, veteran, citizenship or any other group status protected by applicable laws. Harassment is any type of unwelcome conduct based upon aforementioned characteristics and other protected characteristics by applicable laws.² This includes gender-based violence and sexual harassment.

McDonald’s sets the expectation that it is unacceptable for anyone to experience discrimination or harassment while working, dining or interacting with McDonald’s in any way. Through our Global Brand Standards and Global Statement of Principles Against Discrimination, Harassment and Retaliation, we outline our commitment to non-discrimination and non-harassment.

For Crew and Customers

Our Global Brand Standards help foster safe, respectful and inclusive workplaces that protect the physical and psychological safety of all crew and customers. The standards focus on four key areas: protecting employee health and safety; preventing workplace violence; preventing harassment discrimination and retaliation; and listening through restaurant employee feedback. All Company- and Franchisee-operated restaurants must implement these standards.

Our Global Statement of Principles Against Discrimination, Harassment and Retaliation outlines the policy criteria required of all Company-owned and operated restaurant employees and Corporate Staff, applying whether on McDonald’s property, at Company-sponsored events or off-site with other employees, contractors or vendors. It sets out expectations on workplace conduct, manager responsibilities, employee resources and investigation processes. These principles help protect Company employees against inappropriate actions that are unwanted or which create an intimidating, offensive, unsafe or hostile work environment or retaliation for raising concerns of such discrimination of harassment. We do not tolerate harassment of employees by non-employees, and do not tolerate harassment of non-employees by employees. The Statement is also provided for optional use by Franchisees based on their respective locations and circumstances.

We encourage and enable employees to, freely and without consequence to themselves, report instances of harassment, discrimination or other violations of applicable policies. As part of the Global Brand Standards, McDonald’s sets an expectation that, inside every restaurant, contact information to report a grievance is visibly communicated to all crew and managers.

McDonald’s restaurant employees are trained to create a safe, respectful environment for anyone visiting a restaurant, including our customers. McDonald’s promotes customer-facing surveys on many receipts. In 2023, McDonald’s received over 100 million survey responses via its global customer satisfaction survey platform used in more than 100 markets. Some restaurants have also deployed their own customer feedback mechanisms and McDonald’s makes customer-facing contact information available at the restaurant, national and global level. These mechanisms provide avenues for customers to raise complaints about discrimination or harassment if experienced at a McDonald’s restaurant.

For Suppliers

McDonald’s Supplier Code of Conduct promotes anti-discrimination and fair treatment. It requires suppliers to promote and maintain a workplace free from discrimination and treat their employees with fairness, dignity and respect. No form of physical, sexual, psychological or verbal harassment or abuse shall be tolerated.

The Supplier Workplace Standards and Guidance Document (SWSGD) further details requirements on Anti-Discrimination and Fair Treatment, including:

Providing an environment free from discrimination is essential for maintaining a positive workplace and complying with law. All individuals in the workplace are to be treated with fairness, dignity and respect.
All employment decisions are based on job-related criteria and not on a person’s race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, age, disability, national/ethnic/social origin, gender identity or expression, union membership, political affiliation, marital or pregnancy status, pre-employment medical exams, any other personal characteristics or any basis prohibited by law.
There is no tolerance for any form of harassment, abuse or intimidation in the workplace.
Security practices are gender appropriate and non-intrusive.

4. Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Our approach to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) is about creating space for everyone to succeed – no matter who they are, where they’re from or how they identify. It’s also about breaking down barriers so more people can access the opportunities for prosperity our organization offers.

We believe DEI has a clear basis in human rights and so respect it accordingly. We take steps to help embed DEI into all aspects of our operations because we believe promoting these principles within our Company and society more broadly are mutually reinforcing goals.

At our offices and in our restaurants, McDonald’s seeks to provide inclusive employment opportunities. As a result, McDonald’s focuses on looking at the employee life cycle and embedding processes that ensure everyone – including women and members of Underrepresented Groups¹ – feel like they belong at McDonald’s and has access to opportunities. This includes efforts that take into consideration key inclusion programs that support people with disabilities and elderly workers, as well as women’s inclusion programs in geographies with significant social stigma around female economic participation in the workplace.

We publish robust reporting through our website and annual Purpose & Impact Report, capturing how we foster inclusion and showcase our DEI strategy.

5. Education and Employment Creation

We aim to create a world class employee experience with ample learning and development opportunities.

Education and employment creation is crucial for our business as it can help lead to happier, more fulfilled employees, which can have a direct influence on the customer experience. Across most markets, McDonald’s provides opportunities for economic inclusion of workers from typically underserved communities, such as workers who left high school before receiving their diploma.

We share our efforts to develop talent, such as through Hamburger University® (HU) and our Archways to Opportunity® education program, on our website. We also help reduce barriers to employment for young people through our Youth Opportunity program, which includes support for readiness training and workplace development programs.

6. Effective Remedy

We provide and support access to effective remedy channels through grievance mechanisms and other appropriate channels that are transparent and accessible to all workers, customers and communities.

Enabling people to report any alleged violations of their rights, in safety and without fear of retribution, is an integral part of supporting and championing human rights. McDonald’s primary grievance mechanism is the Business Integrity Line, an anonymous global channel that can be used by Company employees and employees of business partners (such as suppliers or Franchisees). Regardless of who uses the Business Integrity Line to raise a complaint, all complaints received are reviewed and complainants are protected from retaliation by our Standards of Business Conduct and Global Statement of Principles Against Discrimination, Harassment and Retaliation. We do not tolerate retaliation of any kind, including unlawful threats, intimidation, physical or legal attacks against anyone who reports an issue to McDonald’s, including human rights defenders.³

For Company Employees and Franchisees

Encouraging honest communication with managers and human resources (HR) representatives, as well as providing anonymous channels for Company employees to report concerns, are key ways we support access to effective remedy channels.

We take all such concerns that are raised seriously. We will not impede state-based grievance processes via our employee system, and we do not require Company employees to waive their right to use such external mechanisms. We do not tolerate retaliation of any kind, including unlawful threats, intimidation, physical or legal attacks, against anyone who reports an issue to McDonald’s. We provide access to remediation of adverse human rights impacts and encourage our suppliers and Franchisees to do the same, recognizing this commitment should not obstruct access to other remedies.

Each of our International Operated Markets (IOMs) has HR staff who are responsible for handling concerns in an appropriate and timely manner. This process may include investigating complaints, interviewing witnesses, reviewing documentation and determining next steps.

In the U.S. market, several grievance mechanisms are available. Company-owned and operated restaurant employees can report concerns or complaints to their restaurant’s General Manager or Operations Consultant, HR Consultant or HR Manager, or the Business Integrity Line. We also provide Company-owned restaurant employees with third-party Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) such as the McResource Line and the Employee Resource Connection. These EAPs offer services such as counseling, referrals and other support, and are free and confidential.

For Suppliers

Guided by the UNGPs, McDonald’s Supplier Workplace Standards and Guidance Document (SWSGD) provides a step-by-step best practice process to help suppliers establish an effective grievance mechanism. Through the Supplier Code of Conduct, we require suppliers to establish internal grievance mechanisms and provide their workers with their own robust internal procedures to raise issues. Our Business Integrity Line, and an email contact to reach the SWA Global Management team, is open to suppliers and their employees, if they suspect or become aware of any alleged breaches to the Supplier Code of Conduct. The Code explicitly states that the supplier’s grievance mechanism program must allow for anonymous reports.

McDonald’s likewise has taken steps to prevent retaliation in its supply chain through contractual safeguards with suppliers, including Supplier Code of Conduct adherence.

7. Forced Labor

Forced labor can be understood as any work or service that is done involuntarily and under threat of penalty, which can include sanctions, threat or use of physical violence, coercion, debt and restrictions on workers’ freedom, including preventing them from moving freely outside the workplace.

McDonald’s takes steps to ensure it does not engage in human trafficking or exploitation and works diligently to prevent the importation of goods tainted by slavery or human trafficking. This includes conducting heightened human rights due diligence in geographies determined to be higher risk. The Company has a policy against using any form of slave, forced, bonded, or indentured labor.

For Company Employees and Franchisees

McDonald’s is committed to preventing forced labor and upholding responsible and ethical recruitment standards.

We maintain Responsible and Ethical Recruitment Principles which outline the Company’s commitment to working toward five global recruitment standards:

Workers do not pay recruitment fees, whether to a private labor broker/employment agent or to the employer itself.
Workers are provided contracts in a language fully understandable by the workers at the point of recruitment and prior to deployment.
McDonald’s and our Franchisees do not keep or withhold any government-issued identification, monetary deposits, bonding or other collateral as a condition of employment.
If workers reside in employer-provided housing, there must be a plan for management of safe housing and accommodation, including that it is fit for purpose and in good repair.
McDonald’s and our Franchisees apply these standards to themselves and to third parties recruiting and/or managing labor on their behalf. We make our Responsible and Ethical Recruitment Principles available to other third-party contractors to educate them on our responsible recruitment standards and encourage them to develop similar policies and procedures for their own business operations.

These standards apply to migrant labor recruiting practices across McDonald’s and its majority-owned subsidiaries and to Franchisees.

Guided by the UNGPs, McDonald’s undertakes risk-based due diligence to identify, address and mitigate adverse human rights-related impacts. Wherever practical, McDonald’s hires workers directly. Where this is not possible, McDonald’s will take steps to select agencies that operate responsibly and agree to abide by our Responsible and Ethical Recruitment Principles. Furthermore, McDonald’s has adopted practices and procedures to address hidden recruitment fees so that migrant workers don’t pay such fees and are hired in accordance with our principles.

For Suppliers

Fundamental to our Supplier Code of Conduct is an expectation of ethical employment practices by our suppliers and their supply chains, including subcontractors and third-party labor agencies. Our Code and Supplier Workplace Standards and Guidance Document (SWSGD) clearly prohibit any form of slave, forced, bonded, indentured or prison labor, and prohibits suppliers and third-party labor agencies from retaining employees’ government-issued identification, passports or work permits as a condition of employment. We also expect our suppliers to provide their own internal reporting mechanisms, to ensure their employees have a safe and timely way to report workplace concerns without fear of retaliation.

On-site audits include a review of ethical recruitment practices to verify that workers are employed under voluntary conditions and have freedom of movement. This includes verification that:

Workers are not charged illegal fees as a condition of employment.
Worker contracts are in the local language and signed by the worker.
Suppliers do not retain workers’ government-issued identification, passports or work permits.

8. Freedom of Association and Collective Bargaining

Freedom of Association includes the right of employees to interact and organize among themselves to collectively express, promote, pursue and defend common interests, and to choose not to do such. Collective bargaining is a voluntary process through which employers and workers discuss and negotiate their relations, in particular terms and conditions of work.

As stated in our Human Rights Policy (PDF – 120 KB), we respect the right to freedom of association (or not) and collective bargaining. We also value having meaningful, direct dialogue with our employees. Listening to our crew directly is key to understanding their experience and perspective, and to understanding whether they are receiving the support they need in their work.

As stated in our Supplier Code of Conduct (PDF – 1.3 MB) and our Supplier Workplace Standards and Guidance Document (SWSGD), we look to establish and foster long-term relationships across our System with Franchisees, suppliers and other business partners who respect the right to freedom of association and collective bargaining and the importance and value of having meaningful, direct dialogue with their employees.

9. Land Rights

Land rights include rights to control, transfer, occupy, enjoy and use land and resources – including rights to use natural resources, water and other related resources that support a community’s livelihood. This includes both formal and customary land use rights.

We aim to help preserve and regenerate nature, support biodiversity and other ecosystem services, and engage the communities and farmers closest to natural ecosystems to build resilience together, and to help manage nature-related risks. This includes human rights-related risks.

Our Commitment on Forests and Natural Ecosystems (PDF – 126 KB) is applicable across our supply chain and prioritizes commodities and regions where we can deliver the greatest impact. Importantly, our commitment extends beyond forests to other areas of high conservation value, safeguarding the people and communities globally who depend on these natural spaces.

10. Nutrition

Nutrition relates to the human right to health, the right to access vital nutrients, to prevent malnutrition and to access adequate food in sufficient quantities to satisfy people’s dietary needs.

In developing our approach, we heard directly from parents and stakeholders that focusing our strategy on kids and families is where we could have the biggest impact on nutrition. Thus, our strategy has been grounded in making balanced meals more accessible to children worldwide through Happy Meal-related goals on the Nutrition & Marketing Practices page.

We listen to our customers and periodically evaluate our menu to identify ways to evolve our offerings while maintaining the great taste people know and love.

11. Occupational Health and Safety

When we consider occupational health and safety, we mean maintaining a safe work environment for employees through practices, procedures and training that foster a culture of safety and help prevent workplace injuries.

For Company Employees and Franchisees

McDonald’s is committed to providing a safe working environment in our Company-operated restaurants and supporting our Franchisees in doing the same in the restaurants they own and operate. McDonald’s promotes regulatory compliance and safety governance through operational, equipment and building standards. Additionally, McDonald’s maintains a safe working environment by employing safety-related practices, procedures and training in areas such as, but not limited to, CO₂ safety, fire prevention and protection, slip and fall prevention, electrical safety, chemical safety, proper lifting, emergency exits and personal protective equipment (PPE). Templates for incident management, extreme weather plans and evacuation maps are also available. McDonald’s assesses safety compliance globally through the Operations PACE Running Great Restaurants program.

For Suppliers

McDonald’s Supplier Code of Conduct specifies that suppliers must ensure all workers receive communication and training on emergency planning and safe work practices. In addition, suppliers must have systems to prevent, detect and respond to potential risks to the safety, health and security of employees. This standard is supported by a detailed list of expectations in our Supplier Workplace Standards and Guidance Document (SWSGD) covering Workplace Environment considerations across the workplace and accommodation (if provided).

In 2021, McDonald’s included its Critical Health and Safety Incident Response (CHSIR) Process in the SWSGD. The objective of the CHSIR Process is to ensure that McDonald’s has a consistent methodology to address major health and safety incidents that occur within the supply chain. In 2022, McDonald’s SWA developed and disseminated supplementary Health and Safety Guidance for Supplier Relationship Managers considering lessons learned and best practices developed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Later in 2022, McDonald’s collected and circulated examples of supplier best practice promoting positive Workplace Environment covering topics such as proactive management of workplace safety incidents, preventing blocked emergency exits and leveraging communication to promote workplace safety.

12. Working Conditions

Working conditions covers a broad range of topics, from working time (hours of work, rest periods, work schedules) and remuneration and wages to conditions related to the promotion of work-life balance.

It also includes equal pay considerations, and, at McDonald’s, we recognize the critical importance of working toward more equal pay practices and how that influences the battle against workforce inequity. That is why we set an equal pay goal in 2021. Read more about our commitment to equal pay on our Diversity, Equity & Inclusion page.

For Company Employees and Franchisees

Providing a best-in-class employee experience is a business imperative because it directly impacts the customer experience.

To attract and retain talent at all levels of the business, we provide competitive compensation commensurate with a Company employee’s position. We evaluate competitive wage data and market trends to determine appropriate wage ranges and aim to comply with all applicable wage and hour laws.

We offer competitive benefits to individuals employed by McDonald’s Corporation and its majority-owned subsidiaries worldwide and offer resources to our Franchisees to support them in designing competitive benefit packages for their employees. In most countries, we offer benefits to full- and part-time Company employees working more than a certain number of hours. Our Global People teams work to identify the particular needs of Corporate Staff and Company-operated restaurant employees in different countries, creating locally relevant and competitive benefit packages.

Well-being can mean different things in different areas of the world, but working toward ensuring our employees are happy and healthy across the globe is something we champion. Our BeWell@McD internal web page is designed to support the Company’s leaders across the globe in developing a well-being strategy, providing frameworks and tools they can leverage and adapt to bring the brand to life locally.

We limit our use of arbitration, noncompetition and nondisclosure covenants as follows:

We do not and will not, as a condition of employment, require mandatory arbitration of harassment and discrimination claims.
Leadership within the Officer level sign noncompetition covenants, but we do not require, as a condition of employment, any employee below the Officer level to sign post-termination, noncompetition covenants, except in very limited situations, as authorized by the Chief Legal Officer. These would include an employee who has unique skills, knowledge or access to intellectual property, trade secrets or highly confidential customer information that would provide a competitor with an advantage (e.g., complex knowledge regarding menu innovation or critical technology applications or systems).
In the event that McDonald’s seeks a nondisclosure covenant (where permissible by law) in connection with the settlement of a harassment or discrimination claim brought by an employee or former employee against an officer of McDonald’s Corporation, we will provide notice of such arrangement to the Board of Directors for appropriate oversight.

For Suppliers

McDonald’s also holds suppliers accountable for creating positive working conditions through our Supplier Code of Conduct, which:

Requires workers to have at least one day of leave per week.
Prohibits involuntary overtime.
Requires workers are to be paid lawful wages, including overtime, premium pay and equal pay for equal work without discrimination.
Prohibits disciplinary deductions from pay.

Detailed guidance and best practice examples to uphold and implement these expectations are shared with suppliers through our Supplier Workplace Standards and Guidance Document (SWSGD).

McDonald’s values opportunities to partner with suppliers to move beyond compliance, especially to foster conditions related to the promotion of work-life balance. With McDonald’s support, some Happy Meal toy production facilities in China partnered with ICTI Ethical Toy Program (IETP) and The Centre for Child Rights and Business to run Family Friendly Spaces (FFS) in their facilities. This program is about reuniting “left behind” children with their parents who are migrant workers in toy facilities, during the summer holidays. In 2023, nine McDonald’s suppliers participated in FFS with 340 children.

13. Workplace Security

Workplace security involves ensuring reasonable measures are in place to protect a person’s physical security from violence.

We believe we all have a responsibility to protect the security of employees and anyone who enters a McDonald’s restaurant. We strive to foster secure working environments for crew and safe experiences for customers. Our Global Brand Standards require Company- and Franchisee-operated restaurants to implement standards to mitigate workplace violence (e.g., having policies in place and communicating those to employees, conducting workplace violence prevention training, having reporting mechanisms in place for employees to report concerns and using CCTV). All restaurants are assessed on each criterion in accordance with the applicable McDonald’s market’s business evaluation processes. Read more about our Global Brand Standards on our Safe & Respectful Workplaces page.

Our commitment to respecting the safety of people is incorporated in our policies, codes of conduct and guiding principles, including:

McDonald’s Global Security & Intelligence team is responsible for supporting implementation of Workplace Violence Prevention under McDonald’s Global Brand Standards as well as developing, disseminating and supporting capacity development of best practices such as for Crisis Management.

Global Security also manages the Safety and Security Endorsed Equipment list featuring approved equipment solutions reflecting best practices throughout the McDonald’s System, vetted to address safety and security needs. Each solution is accompanied by policy and guidance materials.

The risk of workplace violence varies from restaurant to restaurant. McDonald’s encourages markets to periodically analyze their restaurants to understand which locations are at most risk of violence. To support locations at increased risk, McDonald’s provides a coaching resource designed to mitigate the risks of workplace violence. This resource is designed to be delivered and facilitated by a designated security and safety SME or operations consultants/supervisors. The resource is flexible and can be used for crew and managers in pre-emptive sessions, post-incident refreshers or for general awareness as a topic at larger operations meetings.

Stakeholder Engagement

To assess and prioritize human rights impacts, we conduct human rights assessments, monitor media and third-party reporting and participate in internal and external stakeholder engagement. Internal routine accountability mechanisms are also critical for our ongoing due diligence across operations and supply chain. Our Operations PACE Running Great Restaurants visits and SWA initiatives are prime examples of this and are complemented by ad hoc deep dives and heightened human rights due diligence on an as-needed basis.

To help drive progress, McDonald’s collaborates with several industry groups to promote human rights, such as our active participation in, and as Co-Chairs of, the Consumer Goods Forum (CGF) Human Rights Coalition, which strives to make human rights due diligence the industry norm in own operations and supply chains, connecting the people and planet agendas.

We also engage with the Business for Social Responsibility’s Human Rights Working Group (HRWG), which supports implementation of the UNGPs in a shared-learning forum of more than 55 companies.

In 2023, we became an Engaged Organization of the Centre for Sport & Human Rights. The centre is a human rights organization with a mission to advance a world of responsible sport that fully respects and promotes human rights by generating awareness around key human rights issues, building capacity and delivering value-added impact. In this multi-stakeholder forum, sponsors of sporting events are recognized as critical stakeholders in the sports ecosystem. Our participation helps us understand and implement measures to do our part in preventing human rights violations linked to sport and major events.

McDonald’s is also a member of the Leadership Group for Responsible Recruitment, a collaborative effort to drive positive change in the way migrant workers are recruited. It’s an opportunity for us to learn and collaborate, while inspiring broader, systemic change for the recruitment and employment of migrant workers.

To help ensure our supplier program addresses emerging human rights issues and risks, we participate in initiatives such as AIM-Progress, a business initiative focused on responsible sourcing. By partnering with AIM-Progress, McDonald’s is helping to support broader adoption of the UNGPs by suppliers across the globe.

Beyond partnerships with industry organizations, our SWA program is complemented by mechanisms that enable collaboration on a risk-based approach to high-risk sourcing regions or commodities. This includes sourcing our largest food and packaging volumes through internationally recognized third-party certification schemes that respect human rights and communities in their certification process. We have strict sustainable sourcing policies in place that specify requirements to source via established schemes, such as the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), Rainforest Alliance, Fairtrade International, Forest Stewardship Council^® (FSC^®) and the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC^TM). Learn more about certifications for our high-priority commodities on our Responsible Sourcing page.

Modern Slavery Act and Due Diligence Reporting

To support transparency in line with Modern Slavery Acts and other legislation related to human rights due diligence in our supply chain, we outline below further details on how we assess and mitigate risk in our supply chain:

The Supplier Code of Conduct applies to all suppliers in McDonald’s supply chain. At a minimum, we require all suppliers and their facilities to meet the standards and promote the principles outlined in our Code. McDonald’s also expects suppliers to hold their own supply chains (including subcontractors, agencies, etc.) to the same standards as outlined in our Code, and to create internal mechanisms and programs for handling reports of workplace grievances, including anonymous reporting. McDonald’s provides a Supplier Workplace Standards and Guidance Document (SWSGD) to assist suppliers in meeting the standards.
When onboarding prospective suppliers, they must complete a verification process to show they meet our expectations. This includes completion of a rigorous annual self-assessment questionnaire to appraise their current systems and practices – producing a report indicating areas for improvement.
The Supplier Code of Conduct is the cornerstone of the global Supplier Workplace Accountability (SWA) program, which aims to help suppliers understand McDonald’s expectations, verify compliance with our expectations and work toward continuous improvement.
The SWA program engages several social compliance auditing firms around the world who conduct on-site audits of facilities, worker housing and cafeterias. These audits investigate such concerns as recruitment fees, discrimination, wrongful confiscation of personal documents and other human rights considerations that McDonald’s seeks to eliminate from its supply chain.
Instances of noncompliance are shared with individual suppliers, who must then produce and implement a corrective and preventive action plan. This must outline specific time frames within which corrective action will be taken, root causes analyzed and policies and procedures updated. In instances of significant noncompliance, suppliers are subject to a follow-up audit.
McDonald’s SWA program is designed to support suppliers in meeting our standards. We prioritize continuous improvement, capacity building and corrective actions. However, in certain circumstances, such as instances of significant noncompliance with the Code, McDonald’s may remove a supplier from the supply chain.
In addition to training, auditing, and other aspects of the SWA program, we require suppliers to establish internal grievance mechanisms and provide their workers with their own robust internal procedures to raise issues. Guided by the UNGPs, our SWSGD provides a step-by-step best practice process to help suppliers establish an effective grievance mechanism. Our Business Integrity Line, and an email to reach the SWA Global Management team, is open to suppliers and their employees, if they suspect or become aware of any alleged breaches to our Code. Our Code explicitly states that the supplier’s reporting program must protect the worker’s confidentiality and must prohibit retaliation in response to reporting issues.
To continue upholding our standards for respecting human rights, we look to better understand the human rights risk associated with the various commodities we source. In 2018, we engaged an external provider to conduct a Human Rights Impact Assessment (HRIA) at the farm level. The assessment enabled us to identify that, of all the commodities we source, palm oil, tea, coffee and timber present the greatest risk of exposure to human rights concerns, with occupational health and safety, migrant workers and decent working time identified as the most salient risks.

Footnotes

¹ In the U.S., the term “Underrepresented Groups” generally means people who identify as Black, Indigenous, Asian or Pacific Islander, or otherwise as people of color, people of Hispanic or Latino/a/x descent, people with disabilities, people who identify as LGBTQ+, people from religious minorities, or people having a combination of these identities or attributes. For purposes of McDonald’s reporting, including with respect to Human Capital Metrics and Equal Pay, “Underrepresented Groups” is defined as people who identify as Black, Indigenous, Asian or Pacific Islander, people of Hispanic or Latino/a/x descent, or people having a combination of these identities or attributes.

² Such as sex, sex stereotyping, pregnancy (this includes pregnancy, childbirth and medical conditions related to pregnancy, childbirth or breastfeeding), race (including, but not limited to, hairstyle and hair texture), color, religion, ancestry or national origin, age, disability, medical condition, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, status of being transgender, military or veteran status, citizenship status, genetic information or any other protected group status or characteristic as defined by local laws. We also prohibit discrimination with respect to marital, familial and/or parental status (including, for example, whether you are married, single, have biological or adopted children or are planning to have children).

³According to the UN, human rights defenders are people who, individually or with others, act peacefully to promote or protect human rights.

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