Safe & Respectful Workplaces
We believe that, as a brand, we have a responsibility to help protect the health and safety of anyone who works at or enters a McDonald’s restaurant.
We are committed to prioritizing safety in all of McDonald’s corporate offices and Company-owned and operated restaurants, as well as supporting our Franchisees to do the same in the restaurants they own and operate. We work to foster respectful workplaces, where people can be themselves without fear of harassment, discrimination, retaliation or violence, and help our Franchisees do the same in their workplaces.
Focus on Fostering a Safe, Respectful & Inclusive Workplace
Implementing Our People Brand Standards
The purpose of McDonald’s People Brand Standards is to promote safe, respectful and inclusive workplaces that help protect the physical and psychological safety of all restaurant employees. The standards apply across all McDonald’s restaurants (whether Company-owned and operated or franchised). Restaurants are assessed on each criterion in accordance with the applicable local evaluation processes.
The People Brand Standards expect each restaurant to focus on key areas, including:
- Protecting employee health and safety.
- Preventing workplace violence (e.g., having policies in place and communicating them to employees, conducting workplace violence prevention training and having reporting mechanisms in place for employees to report concerns).
- Preventing harassment, discrimination and retaliation (e.g., having policies in place and communicating them to employees, conducting training and having reporting mechanisms in place for employees to report concerns).
- Listening to restaurant employee feedback (e.g., conducting employee surveys and creating restaurant-level corresponding action plans).
Implementing Supporting Standards
All McDonald’s restaurants – whether Company-owned and operated or franchised – are subject to the same brand standards. McDonald’s is responsible for ensuring that Company-owned restaurants implement these standards and supports Franchisees with a suite of optional tools, resources, policies and training to help them meet the same expectations. We reimagined our Safe, Respectful and Inclusive Workplace training to focus on the behaviors needed to drive a place of work where everyone feels included. This training is available in several languages and offered optionally to Franchisees to help them meet People Brand Standards. We also offer a suite of workplace violence prevention trainings to Company-owned and operated restaurants, as well as similar optional tools for Franchisees. Under the People Brand Standards, the trainings are expected to be completed within 14 days of an employee’s first shift.
Throughout the People Brand Standards rollout, which began in 2021, we have incorporated Franchisee feedback to help ensure implementation resources are clear, useful and effective. Our Franchisees have shared examples of how the program has strengthened their knowledge and understanding, and how it has enhanced their ability to act and respond in real-life scenarios when needed. Hearing from Franchisees has also enabled us to identify opportunities for improvements to help achieve a more successful implementation process. Some of these improvements include enhancements to technology and reporting, additional education and communications, training enhancements and updates to optional resources for our Franchisees.
Assessing Compliance
To monitor and support Franchisees in complying with our standards, we have several procedures and teams in place, including:
- Business Reviews: Business Reviews are carried out with each Franchisee on an annual or biannual basis.
- Operations Performance and Customer Excellence (PACE) process: In markets outside of the U.S., PACE is an “always on” consulting platform that identifies people management as one of three core areas to be assessed. In the U.S., the assessment of the U.S. People Brand Standards is conducted by an independent third party and is separate from the PACE process.
- A Network of Franchise Business Consultants that supports Franchisees on an ongoing basis to run successful operations.
Through delivering the Business Review process and ongoing dialogue with Franchisees, we help protect the McDonald’s brand by supporting Franchisees to operate in accordance with our expectations. In addition to the Business Review process, we complete routine visits to certain Franchisee restaurants to assess and support restaurant performance, including supporting the sharing of optional people strategy best practices. We help drive Franchisees’ business performance in all areas, from providing consulting services to help improve sales and guest experiences, to sharing optional tools and resources that support their efforts to ensure their employees feel valued, respected and supported.
There are times when Franchisees may be considered to not have fully complied with our standards. We take our responsibilities as a franchisor seriously, and we work with Franchisees to help them improve and identify what, if any, additional support is required. Where room for improvement is identified, Franchisees are given the tools and resources to develop action steps for improvement. In situations where a Franchisee fails to comply with the prescribed standards, McDonald’s takes appropriate action.
In addition to our review processes with Franchisees, our existing procedures include several ways that an individual can report an incident or raise a concern. We require all restaurants to maintain their own reporting process within their own restaurants.
Focus on Workplace Health & Safety
McDonald’s promotes regulatory compliance and safety governance through operational, equipment and building standards. Additionally, McDonald’s takes steps to maintain 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). McDonald’s is responsible for ensuring that Company-owned restaurants implement these standards and supports Franchisees with a suite of optional tools, resources, policies and training to help them meet the same expectations. Templates for incident management, extreme weather plans and evacuation maps are also available. McDonald’s assesses adherence to safety requirements globally using the assessment process described above.
Related Topics
Human Rights
We strive to weave human rights into McDonald’s day-to-day practices, helping fulfill our commitment to respect the rights of all people and communities who produce, serve and enjoy our food.
Inclusion
At McDonald’s, we believe in creating access to opportunity for everyone we serve, whether it’s our customers, employees, Franchisees or suppliers. It’s a belief that underpins our steadfast commitment to always putting people first.
Talent & Benefits
Led by McDonald’s core values, we are committed to fostering workplaces where employees feel empowered to pursue their career aspirations with access to opportunity.
See our performance highlights and read our latest Purpose & Impact Report
