Yeah I hate working there, currently working there since 2012 I moved to London for uni and I went back to Mcdonalds because it's very flexible I can dictate my working hours such as only do evenings twice a week. Can take two months off in the Summer etc.

It's not really a job anyone wants to do. It's not fun. It's stressful. But it is a job all the same. It's money all the same.

But I fundementally disagree with the ethics of Mcdonald's and I really hate it.

What ethics do you disagree with?

I make £7.50 an hour to recieve abuse (work at one in a shitty Borough of London)

It's a minimum wage job. You shouldn't expect pay. You also can't blame McDonald's for the shitty customers.

I am treated like an idiot by managers

And you don't report this to upper management why? This is unacceptable to be treated poorly by management.

who also constantly give me contradictory orders, and will tell me to do one thing, then another , then another in the space of 10 minutes.

I can only agree here, unfortunately.

I've seen a lot of people on here take it very seriously, and speak very highly of it, but at the end of the day they're a number in an easily replaceable company. They toil away in a thankless job, for what.

For me, I've worked for McDonald's for 5 years now in all. I've had no bad experiences. I've had bad management, but going through the channels generally fixed it. All of the time? No. But it's something you deal with. You'll nearly always have bad management, or bad coworkers at any job. As for the second part, to high up management, you may be a number. But to your management, you probably aren't. I take an interest in my employee's lives. I treat them like the people they are, with respect. I give them time off if the request it (usually). As I told OP, don't blame McDonald's as a whole for any shitty management you've had.