More than 700 McDonald’s workers join legal action over harassment claims

More than 700 junior McDonald’s workers have joined legal action against the fast-food chain after allegations of widespread discrimination, homophobia and sexual harassment at its restaurants across the UK.Hundreds of current and former crew members – some as young as 19 – have instructed the law firm Leigh Day to take action on their behalf, in a move that has implicated more than 450 of its outlets in Britain.Complainants have been coming forward after an investigation a year ago by the BBC, which on Tuesday claimed that workers at the chain were still facing sexual abuse and harassment despite a promise from McDonald’s to address the concerns after they were first raised.The fresh allegations and legal claim are likely to be front and centre when the UK boss of McDonald’s, Alistair Macrow, faces MPs on the business and trade committee on Tuesday afternoon. McDonald’s is one of the UK’s largest private sector employers, with 168,000 people working at more than 1,400 restaurants

Next to increase prices to help pay for budget tax changes

Next has said it will increase prices by 1% this year to help offset a £67m rise in wage costs driven by budget tax changes, which it expects will slow UK sales growth this year.The fashion and homewares retailer said the tax increases for employers announced by the government in October and their potential impact on prices and the job market “begin to filter through into the economy”.However, the Next chief executive, Simon Wolfson, said the alterations to price and sales expectations were “not a big change” and he did not think the budget changes had hit trading in the run-up to Christmas.The group upped its profit forecasts by £5m after better than expected sales in the key festive trading period.Lord Wolfson said mild weather, which hit sales of coats, boots and knitwear, and other factors were likely to have had more impact

UK food price inflation hits 3.7%, the highest level since March

Food price inflation jumped to 3.7% last month, the highest level since March, helping fuel a bumper season for supermarkets.Sales at the big grocery chains were up 2.1% over the four weeks to 29 December compared with a year before, according to the analysts Kantar. However, that rise was flattered by food price growth, which jumped more than one percentage point from 2

Luxury tights brand Wolford apologises for delays to orders and refunds

The luxury tights and lingerie brand Wolford has apologised after heavy criticism from customers over delays to orders and refunds, admitting its delivery services were overstretched.Shoppers have taken to the reviews site Trustpilot to warn others against making orders, with some saying they had waited for more than a month for their goods to arrive and had been unable to obtain a refund.Almost 90% of the 460 reviews of Wolford give the Austrian brand, where a pair of tights costs from £25 to £200, just one star.In a review posted this weekend, one shopper said they had not received items paid for in November: “Was suppose[d] to wear tights for Christmas party and then New Year’s Eve still haven’t received my order. What the heck

Business secretary urged to refer Vodafone to Covid corruption commissioner

The business secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, has been asked to refer Vodafone to the Covid corruption commissioner, after a legal claim alleged the £18bn telecoms group benefited from government pandemic support intended for small businesses.The request to examine the conduct of the FTSE 100 company follows last month’s high court claim by current and former Vodafone franchisees, which alleged the company “unjustly enriched” itself at the expense of scores of vulnerable small business owners who were running the group’s high street stores.In a letter to Reynolds, John Hayes, a Conservative MP and former minister, said: “Given the allegations about potential misuse of government Covid financial assistance, will your department refer these allegations to the ongoing inquiry into potential misappropriation of public funds during the pandemic, and the Covid corruption commissioner?”Last month Rachel Reeves appointed Tom Hayhoe, a former Conservative cabinet adviser, as her Covid corruption commissioner with the remit of clawing back billions of pounds in fraudulent contracts.While Hayhoe is initially reviewing the procurement of personal protective equipment (PPE), he has powers to scrutinise general government pandemic spending to ensure “everything possible has been done to recover public funds in other Covid schemes including furlough, Covid grants and bounce back loans”.Last month a group of 61 of about 150 Vodafone franchise operators filed a £120m-plus legal claim alleging the company acted in “bad faith” by unilaterally cutting fees to its franchisees; imposed swingeing fines on them totalling thousands of pounds for seemingly minor administrative errors; and then cajoled them into taking out loans and government grants to keep their businesses afloat

UK retailers may have to cut thousands of jobs after bleak Christmas

Britain’s largest retailers are warning they could be forced to cut thousands of jobs this year as the industry braces for higher taxes and employment costs after a bleak Christmas shopping season.In the latest sign of tough trading conditions on the high street, figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) show sales growth over the “golden quarter” between October and December came close to flatlining.For the three months to December – when many retailers make the bulk of their annual profits – the BRC said total UK retail sales growth was 0.4% year on year as shoppers prioritised spending on food and drink over the festive season. Once inflation was factored in, retail sales by volume slid over the year