Weird Rules Wendy's Employees Have To Follow

Wendy's, known for their Baconator and Frosty, is a staple in American fast food fare. With nearly 6,000 locations in the United States, it's hard to imagine an American citizen who hasn't at least tried the restaurant. The chain started in Ohio, per its website, and quickly became known for its food, as well as its redheaded mascot. Wendy's expanded quickly, and with expansion comes rules that employees at all Wendy's locations have to follow.

Every place of business has rules that employees have to follow (duh), and fast food restaurants are no different. However, sometimes these particular businesses require that their employees follow some rather interesting rules that patrons might not expect.

We dug into the home of the Baconator and Frosty to see what Wendy's expects from their staff. Most rules are typical — dress code, conduct expectations, etc. But other guidelines are rather odd, and we listed them here for you. Let's take a look at the weird rules Wendy's employees have to follow:

Have you ever had the urge to take a photo at your place of work? Maybe you've acted on that urge, and have actually taken one. It's not uncommon, and nowadays many places have employees sneaking Snapchats or Instagram stories of exclusive behind-the-scenes content. Some restaurants even encourage it, or use their own accounts to deliver this information to patrons.

At Wendy's, though, phones and photography are strictly prohibited. Per their Rules of Conduct General Rules, "Taking pictures, bringing cameras, or other photographic equipment into Wendy's is prohibited unless written approval is obtained from the home office." Hoping to start a TikTok account exposing Wendy's or showing what your coworkers do behind the scenes? Well, it's off-limits, and you might lose your job.

Wendy's is serious about this rule, too, particularly the use of phones, noting in their Employee Manual that phones are not to be used where customers can see. Although restaurant employees aren't allowed to document their work life on social media, Wendy's can be found on TikTok, Instagram, and Twitter.

Some fast food restaurant rules make us want to avoid seeking employment at their establishment, and others make us want to avoid seeking food. This particular rule falls under the latter category. In a Reddit thread from a Wendy's staffer inviting questions about the chain, a user commented about Wendy's use of cheese and the procedure their employees have to follow concerning the dairy product.

"We leave our American cheese out for like an hour before use, and it sits out even longer if we're slow. It's called 'tempered' cheese," the comment reads. While this may sound disgusting, another user commented, "In all fairness, the idea of tempered cheese might not seem appealing, but Wendy's did get special permission from the FDA to do so. So it's safe." We're not certain whether that last claim is true, but we do know we're guilty of doing the same thing at home every now and again, so we really can't judge too much.

On another Reddit thread, one user mentioned more of the cheese practices at Wendy's, in particular what they do to their cheese sauce. According to their comment, we are all "basically eating melted cheese with hot water." Suddenly we're not craving a baked potato anymore.

Content warning: If you are a fan of Wendy's chili and don't want anything to ruin it for you, beware — this rule that Wendy's staff has to follow might turn you off from their version of the famous soup. Wendy's employees follow a very specific, and kind of disgusting protocol that multiple former employees on Reddit have copped to.

One particular user wrote that employees are to collect hamburger patties as the day goes on, and later put them in the chili. Beforehand they'll "run them under hot water for a good while ... and then chop it thoroughly by mashing it with two spatulas." Per this user, the chili is assembled on site, but each different component is made separately.

Another Wendy's employee on Reddit commented about this practice, and apparently it's been in use for a while, as this comment was posted years ago. Per the commenter, burger meat has a shelf life for use at the restaurant, and patties that have passed that date are used for the chili. As Luvdechub describes it, Wendy's is serving "Watery, leftover-meat chili." Yum.

Most of us would expect staff to be forced to wear gloves for safety and sanitary purposes, but at Wendy's, sometimes the opposite is the case. That's right, Wendy's employees are forced to do certain parts of their job sans gloves. On Reddit – a website seemingly dedicated to exposing the secrets of Wendy's — on a thread started by a Wendy's employee, one user noted that, per company policy, employees "are not allowed to wear gloves when handling meat of any kind."

This user and another who commented on the thread found the policy kind of odd, and we did at first, too. But by digging through Quora, we found a bit of an explanation. Another user pointed out that many restaurants follow this policy, claiming it's cleaner for employees to wash their hands thoroughly before, between, and after each handling of raw meat rather than using gloves and potentially cross-contaminating. Although this policy seems strange, it's actually keeping the food safer and encourages employees to be more hygienic.

Not many jobs offer discounted food as a perk, but at fast food restaurants, it's standard. Wendy's offers employees a generous discount, but only at certain times. Per their Employee Manual, "Wendy's meal program allows a 50% discount for meals eaten 1/2 hour before or 1/2 hour after your shift, or while you're on break," adding "the maximum retail value is $10 per meal." Outside of those designated hours, staff are allotted a 10% discount and are unable to apply said discount to their family and friends' food.

A Reddit user detailed this rule, adding that the chain also offers something called a VIP card that gives you a 25% discount. The user noted that these "are only given to crew with certain requirements," suggesting perhaps one criterion to attain such a card is having children, but the user is unsure. Either way, Wendy's employees are certainly getting a good deal when it comes to the price they pay for their food. Hopefully they don't get sick of it.