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Waitrose has reversed its ruling not to grant paid work to an neurodivergent person after initially saying he had to stop working at the store where he had donated his time for an extended period.

In July, Frances Boyd requested whether her 28-year-old son her son could be offered a position at the grocery store in Greater Manchester, but her request was eventually rejected by Waitrose head office.

Recently, competing supermarket the grocery chain announced it was interested in providing Tom employment hours at its local branch.

Responding to Waitrose's U-turn, Frances commented: "We are going to consider the offer and determine whether it is in Tom's best interests to return... and are having additional conversations with the supermarket."

'We are investigating'

A representative for the retailer said: "We'd like to see Tom resume, in a paying position, and are requesting assistance from his relatives and the charity to facilitate this."

"We anticipate to welcome him again with us very soon."

"We care deeply about supporting workers into the employment who might usually not be offered opportunities."

"As such, we enthusiastically received Tom and his support worker into our Manchester location to gain experience and build his confidence."

"We have guidelines in place to enable volunteering, and are examining the situation in this instance."

Tom's mother said she had been "deeply moved" by how people had answered to her discussing her son's experiences.

The individual, who has challenges with communication, was praised for his commitment by store leadership.

"He gave extensive time of his time purely because he wanted to belong, be helpful, and create value," stated his mum.

The parent recognized and acknowledged employees at the local supermarket for assisting him, stating: "They included him and were absolutely brilliant."

"I feel he was just flying under the radar - all was running smoothly until it became a headquarters matter."

The family have been endorsed by Greater Manchester mayor the public figure.

He posted on online platforms that Tom had received "completely unacceptable" management and promised to "support him to identify different opportunities that functions".

The mayor said the local government body "actively promotes each company - including Waitrose - to sign up to our recently launched diversity program".

Discussing with Frances, who broke the news of Tom's Asda job offer on local radio, the elected official commented: "Well done for highlighting the issue because we need a huge awareness campaign here."

She consented to his invitation to act as a spokesperson for the initiative.