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Waitrose has reversed its ruling not to provide a paying position to an individual with autism after initially saying he had to discontinue stacking shelves at the location where he had volunteered for several years.

During the summer, Frances Boyd requested whether her family member the individual could be offered a position at the grocery store in Cheadle Hulme, but her application was finally turned down by Waitrose head office.

This week, alternative retailer Asda stated it sought to give Tom compensated work at its Cheadle Hulme store.

Reacting to the supermarket's reversal, Frances commented: "We are going to evaluate the situation and choose whether it is in Tom's best interests to resume working... and are having ongoing talks with the supermarket."

'We are investigating'

A spokesman for Waitrose stated: "We'd like to have Tom return, in a paying position, and are requesting assistance from his family and the support organization to do so."

"We hope to welcome him again with us shortly."

"We care deeply about helping people into the job market who might usually not be given a chance."

"Therefore, we enthusiastically received Tom and his care assistant into our Cheadle Hulme branch to build skills and build his confidence."

"We have guidelines in place to enable unpaid work, and are reviewing the situation in Tom's situation."

The parent said she had been "profoundly affected" by how people had answered to her talking about her son's experiences.

The individual, who has limited communication skills, was recognized for his commitment by store leadership.

"He contributed over 600 hours of his energy solely because he sought inclusion, be helpful, and make a difference," stated his mother.

The parent praised and thanked team members at Waitrose's Cheadle Hulme store for helping him, noting: "They welcomed him and were wonderfully accommodating."

"I believe he was just under the radar - all was running smoothly until it reached corporate level."

Tom and his mum have been endorsed by regional leader Andy Burnham.

He stated on X that Tom had received "truly terrible" treatment and vowed to "help him to secure alternative employment that works".

The mayor said the local government body "would encourage every business - such as Waitrose - to sign up to our recently launched Bee Neuroinclusive Code of Practice".

Discussing with Frances, who shared information of Tom's Asda job offer on media outlets, the elected official stated: "Well done for highlighting the issue because we need a huge awareness campaign here."

She agreed to his offer to become an advocate for the campaign.