10 Things That Could Get You Fired From McDonald's

When you think of McDonald's, a few things probably come to mind. The iconic yellow M, Big Macs, and maybe, a certain song by Justin Timberlake. "I'm Lovin' It," with its catchy "ba da ba ba ba" hook was released in 2003, and went on to become the fast food giant's most popular advertising jingle. One of the men behind the catchy tune was Pharrell Williams, who co-produced it alongside Chad Hugo, his bandmate in The Neptunes at the time. But the song wasn't Williams' first interaction with the fast food chain. Before he was a successful musician, known for hits like "Get Lucky" and "Happy," Williams was a McDonald's worker who used to spend his days serving up burgers, shakes, and asking "Do you want fries with that?" on repeat. That is, until he got fired. Three times.

According to Williams, he worked in three separate McDonald's locations and was let go from each one. The first two firings happened because he was lazy, the musician explained in an interview on BBC Radio 2. The third happened because he just couldn't resist snacking on nuggets on the job. Williams is not alone — people get fired from McDonald's for many different reasons, but some of the most common are not showing up and stealing food. Some firings, however, are a little more unique. Keep reading to find out about the many reasons McDonald's workers get fired, from the mundane to the slightly more unusual to the downright unhygienic and violent.

As with most workplaces, if you steal from McDonald's while you're working, you run the risk of disciplinary action, like suspensions or warnings, or getting fired. Stealing counts as anything from pinching Happy Meal toys to snacking on nuggets (like Williams) to helping yourself to fries from the fryer while you're cooking up orders for customers.

However, this doesn't mean that free food is totally off the cards, you just have to go about obtaining it in the right way. Workers are entitled to free meals during their shift. In fact, the fast food chain's free food allowance is one of the biggest positives about working for McDonald's for many people. However, this policy usually just encompasses one meal during a shift and anything beyond that may count as stealing.

To avoid allegations of stealing, McDonald's policy states that employees should order their meals on their break from the customer's side of the counter. Because McDonald's works with a franchise model, specific rules around free meals may vary from location to location. However, most will allow you to choose anything from a Big Mac meal to a McMuffin meal for free.

Several locations also offer employees a discount on anything they like from the menu. The National Employee Discount, for example, is offered in a number of restaurants across the U.S., and allows any McDonald's worker to receive 30% off their order, regardless of whether it's the location they work in or not.

If you repeatedly fail to show up for work at McDonald's without explanation, you're likely to get fired. Of course, this isn't exclusive to the fast food giant, as it's the same for most companies. But in McDonald's, failing to show up without calling ahead is called a No Call No Show.

In most franchises, a No Call No Show will either result in a warning (this often happens for the first offense) or the immediate termination of your employment (this usually happens if the No Call No Show happens again after a warning, or if it happens on more than one occasion in a row). Being late for your shift without fair reason can also result in a warning, and if it happens consistently (for example, on a weekly basis), may result in termination of your employment with McDonald's.

Most McDonald's managers have no problem with absences as long as they are reported correctly in advance. For example, if you cannot make your shift due to illness or a family emergency, you should try to contact your management team the night before or at least two hours before your shift is due to start. In some cases, you may have to bring in a doctor's note to prove that you were too unwell to come into work.

You might think you're doing a good deed, but giving away burgers, nuggets, drinks, or fries for free to anyone, even if they're a relative or a friend, counts as stealing from McDonald's. Even adding a few extra nuggets to a box of McNuggets without authorization could result in either disciplinary action, like a written warning, or you getting fired. 

Some McDonald's franchises are stricter than others on what counts as stealing. Back in 2012, one worker was fired from a McDonald's restaurant in Wales after she topped up a customer's McFlurry order with extra chocolate sprinkles. However, this is not a standard example of a firing offense. In fact, the worker was actually awarded with £3,000 in compensation in an employee tribunal after she was fired. The court ruled that terminating someone's contract for giving out extra sprinkles actually constituted unfair dismissal.

At the other end of the spectrum, some McDonald's locations choose to give people food for free in certain circumstances. In 2017, for example, a McDonald's restaurant in the Vatican City in Rome announced it would give away free burgers to people experiencing homelessness nearby. The location agreed to work with a charity to give out the free meals, which were handed out on Mondays.

It's important to note that this instance was authorized by McDonald's. Workers cannot give away free food to people experiencing homelessness without prior permission, but again, policies vary from franchise to franchise and from restaurant to restaurant.

McDonald's official policy on sexual harassment is strict and breaking it is a fireable offense. The fast food chain does not accept unwelcome sexual behavior from workers towards anyone, including their fellow colleagues. This includes unwelcome advances, demands, requests, or any physical contact of a sexual nature.

However, despite this official policy, in the past, employees have criticized McDonald's handling of sexual harassment claims. In 2021, for example, multiple U.S. workers went on strike and protested in the streets after accusing the fast food chain of not doing enough to protect employees from sexual harassment. In 2022, nearly 100 former McDonald's workers from Michigan won $1.5 million in a sexual harassment lawsuit against the fast food chain. 

In November 2023, a BBC investigation also revealed that McDonald's sexual harassment policy was also not being implemented correctly across multiple locations in the U.K. In response, the fast food chain fired several members of its staff. Employees were also fired for racism and bullying in the workplace. In total, 18 McDonald's workers were fired in the aftermath of the BBC investigation.

Despite all of this action, sexual harassment has not been eradicated from McDonald's restaurants. The London-based law firm Leigh Day is currently supporting workers aged 19 or under who have experienced sexual harassment in McDonald's locations in the U.K.

Just like you can get fired for giving away too much food, you can also get fired for refusing to give out food at all. This has happened on a handful of occasions involving McDonald's workers and the police force. For example, in 2016, one McDonald's employee working at a restaurant in Brenham, Texas refused to serve a customer on account of him being a police officer. This was despite the fact that he was off duty at the time of ordering. The customer reported the incident to the team at the police department where they worked, who then reported it directly to the McDonald's restaurant. As a result, the worker was fired.

A similar incident happened in 2017, when a McDonald's worker refused to serve a police officer in a Virginia restaurant. They too were fired. In 2019, another McDonald's employee, this time in a restaurant in Madeira Beach, Florida, was fired when they refused to serve paramedics — after mistaking them for police officers.

In 2020, McDonald's attempted to build a positive relationship with the police through its Thank You Meal program. The company gave away around 4 million meals every day from April to May to serving police officers, as well as other healthcare workers amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

There is no specific law against yelling or shouting in the workplace, but most companies consider this behavior to be a sackable offense, and McDonald's is no different. The fast food chain claims it is committed to a healthy and safe workplace for all members of staff. This means that, as it would be in most workplaces, swearing, shouting, or screaming at colleagues, managers, and customers is deemed unacceptable.

As part of the aforementioned BBC investigation, multiple members of staff in the U.K. were fired from the fast food chain for bullying behavior. In the U.S., in 2023, another McDonald's worker made headlines when they were fired for shouting at their manager and posting a video of the incident on TikTok. In the video, the McDonald's worker can be heard shouting "You're not my mom and you're not my teacher!" The manager can also be heard saying: "You're done here. You no longer work here. You were terminated for your mouth and for your attitude." The exact location where the incident happened has not been disclosed.

It's not just shouting at managers that can cause McDonald's workers to be fired. Shouting and using offensive language towards anyone, including customers, can also result in the termination of your contract. In 2019, for example, one employee was fired from a McDonald's location in Florida after shouting racial slurs at a customer.

McDonald's, like most companies, does not tolerate threatening or violent behavior from its staff. This behavior goes beyond shouting, and usually involves throwing things or lashing out physically in a way that could cause damage or harm to others. In 2015, for example, one widely-reported incident involved a Minnesota McDonald's worker breaking and throwing equipment while arguing with their management over payment. The scene was all caught on video, the police were called, and the worker was fired for their behavior.

However, a lot of violent behavior in McDonald's doesn't actually come from employees themselves. There have been multiple incidents of assault on McDonald's workers from customers.

In 2020, for example, one McDonald's employee in Shoreditch, London was forced to defend himself with a burger spatula after an aggressive customer broke into the kitchen and started causing chaos. In 2021, another incident in Ohio saw one frustrated customer attack two McDonald's employees after they did not make her slushie to her liking. In another aggressive incident, in 2016, three customers attacked a McDonald's worker in Florida because the ice cream machine was down for maintenance. In another incident in a Florida McDonald's, this time in 2019, one customer was arrested after they allegedly attacked an employee over a lack of available plastic straws.

Working in the service industry is not always easy. Often, customers can be rude, annoying, and demanding. When this happens, it can be challenging to prioritize customer service and be polite in return. But as with most restaurants, if you choose to get your own back on customers in McDonald's by pranking them with the wrong order, you're likely going to get fired.

This was the case in 2021, when one McDonald's employee decided to get revenge on one rude customer by serving them a McFlurry ice cream topped with sweet and sour sauce instead of caramel and then posting a video of the incident on TikTok. The writing on top of the video referenced the customer's bad attitude and the employee only earning $8.50 an hour

While the McDonald's worker was frustrated with rude behavior, and may have seen their behavior as a harmless prank, it is always risky to serve customers food that they did not order. Not only could this result in them complaining and you getting fired, but it could also mean risking allergic reactions.

Other McDonald's workers have chosen to get revenge on rude customers in slightly less serious ways. For example, they might give them the fries that have been sitting around longer than others, meaning the fries are colder, soggier, and considerably less enjoyable. They may also make them wait a little longer for their food, especially if they've ordered through the drive-thru.

McDonald's does not allow any of its workers to wear jewelry for hygiene reasons, and the only exception to this rule is wedding bands. This means that facial piercings, including nose studs, eyebrow rings, and lip rings, must be removed before your shift. If you refuse, you could risk getting fired, or, if it is a fresh piercing that can't be removed, you will be unable to work your shifts until you are able to take the piercing out.

This is because piercings can harbor bacteria, and they can also fall out into food. Piercings like studs or rings can easily hide in foods like burgers and wraps. This is not just unhygienic, it also presents a choking hazard. Even wedding bands should only be worn in restaurants if they do not have any grooves that may collect and harbor bacteria. Despite its strict policy on piercings, there have been incidents where McDonald's customers have found piercings, likely from the employees who have prepared their meals, in their food.

For example, in 2023, one McDonald's customer in Ohio claimed that she found a nose ring in her burger. It is unknown if the worker responsible for making the burger was fired over the incident, which violated the fast food chain's health and safety rules. A similar incident happened in 2012, when a 4-year-old child found a nose ring in their McDonald's breakfast burrito.

In 2017, one McDonald's employee in Louisiana took photos of a drip tray covered in grease and mold before posting it online. The worker alleged that the images were of a tray that belonged to the store's ice cream machine. In response to the incident, a statement from McDonald's claimed that the tray did not come into contact with any food. The worker responsible for posting the images to X, then known as Twitter, claimed that they were fired by McDonald's after the incident. McDonald's might have denied that the disgusting-looking tray came into contact with food, but it is not the first time the fast food chain has been called out for unsanitary conditions.

In 2023, one location in Waltham Forest in the U.K. was forced to pay a £500,000 fine after mice were found in the restaurant. A year later, in another McDonald's location close to Brisbane in Australia, a worker was photographed drying a mop under a heat lamp directly over the fries. Also in 2024, images of dirty floors and piles of trash behind the counter in one McDonald's in Dundee, Scotland also went viral.

When it comes to the golden rules of behavior at the iconic Golden Arches, the key is to always be hygienic, respectful, timely, and polite. And, however tempting it is, don't follow Williams' lead and snack on nuggets (or burgers, or fries, or McFlurries, or shakes — you get the idea) while you're working.