LONDON: The boss of McDonald’s in the UK has defended the company’s continued use of zero-hours contracts for about 80,000 employees in its British restaurants.
Paul Pomroy, who took over the running of the UK operation in December, said staff loved the flexibility of the contracts, which have been criticised for exploiting workers.
He told the BBC: “We still have zero-hours contracts and they are very flexible contracts, so people at McDonald’s get their shifts two weeks in advance and we allow employees to go and work elsewhere.
“We have a very good system of feedback from our employees and having surveyed our employees they still love the flexibility.”
McDonald’s said about 80% of the 100,000-plus employees at franchised and company-owned restaurants in the UK were on zero-hours contracts, and that 92% of employees in a survey of company-owned restaurants said they were happy with theim.
The chain has been criticised for its use of the contracts, which became emblematic of harsher working terms and greater pressure exerted on employees in the last parliament.
Official figures in February showed that almost 700,000 people were on zero-hours contracts, which at their harshest can require employees to work at short notice and prevent them working elsewhere.
McDonald’s said all of its employees had permanent contracts and were entitled to holiday and sick pay, staff discounts, training and regular performance reviews. As well as being free to work elsewhere, employees are not required to be on call, the company said.
