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The grocery retailer has changed its ruling not to grant a paying position to an autistic man after initially saying he had to discontinue volunteering at the branch where he had worked unpaid for several years.

Earlier this year, Frances Boyd inquired whether her family member Tom Boyd could be given a job at the retail establishment in the Manchester area, but her request was eventually rejected by Waitrose head office.

Recently, rival chain Asda announced it sought to give Tom compensated work at its local branch.

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

'Conducting an inquiry'

A spokesman for Waitrose said: "We'd like to see Tom resume, in compensated work, and are seeking support from his family and the charity to facilitate this."

"We hope to have him return with us shortly."

"We place great importance about helping individuals into the employment who might typically not be provided employment."

"Therefore, we warmly welcomed Tom and his helper into our local store to learn the ropes and enhance his self-assurance."

"We have guidelines in place to support community service, and are investigating what's happened in this case."

Tom's mother explained she had been "deeply moved" by how individuals had answered to her sharing her child's situation.

The individual, who has challenges with communication, was commended for his work ethic by managers.

"He donated extensive time of his effort purely because he sought inclusion, be helpful, and create value," commented his mother.

Frances commended and appreciated employees at Waitrose's Cheadle Hulme store for helping him, noting: "They included him and were wonderfully accommodating."

"I think he was just flying under the radar - everything was working well until it reached corporate level."

Tom and his mum have been endorsed by local official Andy Burnham.

He wrote on X that Tom had received "truly terrible" handling and vowed to "support him to identify different opportunities that functions".

The official said the local government body "would encourage all employers - such as Waitrose - to sign up to our recently launched diversity program".

Discussing with the parent, who shared information of Tom's Asda job offer on media outlets, the elected official commented: "Congratulations for bringing attention because we require a significant public information effort here."

She agreed to his invitation to become an advocate for the program.