Supermac’s founder Pat McDonagh has said employees should be banned from using smartphones in situations where they can lead to accidents.

The fast-food outlet CEO believes staff are now showing lower levels of retention and are less focused due to constantly being on their smartphones. Mr McDonagh said he would be in support of a ban on the use of technology in situations where there are health and safety concerns.

“With phones and computers and all that, you have instant knowledge and so it’s very hard to keep the levels of concentration as focused,” he said. “When you’re working on a grill or a fryer, you can’t have any interruptions due to there being very hot oils etc, so they can seriously burn you if you’re not careful, so I would agree with that [banning phones].”

Mr McDonagh has previously spoken out on how staff retention is the biggest challenge facing the company in its fourth decade. He believes that every business will have to look at automation of some sort to survive.

Mr McDonagh is currently looking for franchisees to expand the Supermac’s brand on the east coast and says finding the right people to run a business in the current climate is a challenge.

Supermac’s opened its first Wexford outlet yesterday, bringing the number of restaurants in Ireland to 118, with the aim to have 120 by the end of the year.

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