A baby was left sitting behind the counter of a McDonald’s while his mother served customers because his childminder had cancelled.
The boy was seen sitting in a high-chair at the back of a branch in Cambridge eating a McDonald’s meal.
He was stationed between a fire extinguisher and a bin.
Jesse Wright, 22, from the university town, took a photo of the child when buying breakfast at the counter, the Sun reports.
He said staff sprung into action when they saw him taking the picture.
Mr Wright said: "To my surprise there was a young baby sitting in a high-chair eating a McDonald’s meal which appeared to be right next to the hot counters.
“As soon as I was noticed taking this picture, the McDonald’s staff quickly took the child and highchair away.”
#News Is McDonald's introducing the Baby Mac? Tot is snapped munching in kitchen area http://t.co/zkrHpA9875 pic.twitter.com/m2Zp17zn2L
— Henna Joselevitch (@HennaJosele) July 28, 2015
It is understood that the baby’s mother, whose childcare had fallen through, was then sent home.
A McDonald’s spokesman told the Independent: “It has been made very clear to the restaurant team that this is wholly unacceptable.
“We are a family-friendly employer and have a number of policies in place to support parents and carers.
“We understand the difficulty of balancing childcare with employment, but it is never acceptable to bring a child into the kitchen and this has been reiterated to those involved.”
On its website, McDonald’s says it prides itself on being a “flexible employer”.
“The flexibility we offer is one of the things that they value most about working for us,” it says.
“Our managers will always endeavour to support employees with their schedules, and we encourage employees to talk to the restaurant manager directly to discuss their individual circumstances.”
