(Bloomberg) --

McDonald’s Corp. is set to add 20,000 staff in the U.K. and Ireland as part of a wider expansion, according to the Financial Times.

The easing of social distancing rules, which allows restaurants to operate with more employees, has opened the door for the recruitment push, the newspaper said, citing the restaurant chain.

The move is part of a broader plan where existing stores will be refreshed, including with the addition of “Grab & Go” options in areas with a higher concentration of workers, the paper said.

Restaurants and other U.K. businesses have received aid from the government’s pandemic programs, as well as from tax breaks and a temporary ban on evictions at commercial buildings, it added.

McDonald’s has 1,300 U.K. locations through a franchise network, with about 200 local franchisees and 120,000 employees, according to the newspaper.

“There is no doubt the pandemic has had a huge impact on many people’s employment opportunities and threatened the future of high streets up and down the country,” Paul Pomroy, chief executive officer of McDonald’s U.K. and Ireland, said to the FT.

©2021 Bloomberg L.P.