McDonald's Staff With Dyslexia Referred To As Number Instead of Name

McDonald’s Seremban OKU staff listed as number

Malaysians strive to be a welcoming society, but discrimination in the form of ignorant remarks and actions still persists. Often at the receiving end of these harmful behaviours are persons with disabilities (OKU).

Take the case of this McDonald’s staff with dyslexia, who was referred to by his work identification instead of his name on his work schedule. This was allegedly due to a management policy at the Seremban McDonald’s branch.

Family of OKU staff furious with manager’s crude responses

Image credit: Google Maps

On 16th February 2022, Muhammad Hanis shared his frustrations about what happened to his brother with dyslexia, Aniq, on Facebook in a lengthy post.

His brother was said to be mistreated by his manager at his workplace, McDonald’s Forest Heights in Senawang.

In the post, Hanis explained that Aniq, who works part-time at the McDonald’s branch, did not clock into work on a Sunday as he did not see his name listed on the work schedule.

At 10AM however, the branch manager sent a message to Aniq in the group chat, asking why he was not present for work that day.

Hanis explained that they were confused as Aniq’s name was clearly not stated on the schedule, and their father pointed this out to the manager on behalf of Aniq.

Image credit: Muhammad Hanis

The manager replied that Aniq was indeed listed on the work schedule – only it was his work ID instead of his name.

Offended by the fact that every other employee was referred to by their names on the schedule, Aniq’s father responded that his son had a name and is as human as any of his other colleagues.

The family were appalled when the manager gave the following response – that if Aniq was human and not a number, he should’ve kept the lobby of the restaurant cleaner. The manager in question ended the message by calling Aniq “a little stupid”.

Image credit: Muhammad Hanis

In a rage, Hanis sent a series of texts berating the manager for his disrespectful attitude towards his brother, but received no further responses. He subsequently attempted to reach the manager via phone call multiple times, but no one picked up.

When Hanis finally managed to get in touch with another manager at the branch, he was told that OKU employees being referred to by their employee number was allegedly standard practice at McDonald’s.

Disappointed at the lack of empathy shown by management

Hanis was also infuriated that his barrage of messages were met with silence.

He shared that not a single person in the group chat had bothered to stand up for his brother. He was further dismayed when nobody said a single word to Aniq about the incident when he returned to work the following day.

Except from Hanis’ Facebook post
Image credit: Muhammad Hanis

He capped off his post by reiterating that he doesn’t blame all McDonald’s branches or staff for “discrimination, [provocation], hate speech, and abuse of power”, but pointed out that the action of one person reflects upon the company. He explained that it was not right to discriminate against his brother with dyslexia who is unable to express his feelings without the help of family or friends.

Hanis requested for McDonald’s to look into the matter and carry out a thorough investigation against the perpetuators of the discriminatory act.

“How can it be that a company asks customers to be supportive towards people with special needs, but the management itself is not practising what the company preaches?” he wrote.

McDonald’s statement on the issue

Following Hanis’s Facebook post going viral, McDonald’s released a statement on 18th February 2022 to address the incident.

Image credit: McDonald’s Malaysia

In the post, McDonald’s Malaysia stated that they are currently conducting an investigation regarding the matter. They agree that the behaviour of the manager accused was unacceptable and proper action will be taken.

McDonald’s Malaysia also assured that they had apologised to Aniq and his family, mentioning that Aniq is an appreciated member of the team who have been working with them for four years.

In the statement, they reiterated, “As a people-oriented company, we strive to provide an inclusive work environment and promote a culture that allows our people to grow and build harmonious relationships as members of the McFamily.”

More empathy for people with disabilities

This incident proves that many still don’t realise the scale of the problem surrounding society’s attitude towards people with disabilities. To tackle the issue of discrimination, a more united and amplified effort is required.

It’s unfortunate that Aniq and others in his shoes have to experience discrimination on a regular basis, and hope that his story reminds us all to be more alert of the feelings and needs of everyone around us.