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The supermarket has reversed its decision not to provide a paying position to an individual with autism after previously stating he had to cease volunteering at the branch where he had donated his time for several years.

In July, Frances Boyd inquired whether her adult child her son could be given a employment opportunity at the grocery store in Cheadle Hulme, but her request was eventually rejected by the company's corporate office.

This week, competing supermarket Asda stated it wanted to offer Tom employment hours at its Manchester location.

Reacting to the supermarket's reversal, Tom's mother commented: "We are going to evaluate the situation and determine whether it is in the optimal outcome for Tom to go back... and are having further discussions with the company."

'We are investigating'

A spokesman for the supermarket chain said: "We'd like to have Tom return, in paid employment, and are seeking support from his family and the non-profit to do so."

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

"We place great importance about helping people into the job market who might otherwise not be given a chance."

"As such, we warmly welcomed Tom and his helper into our Cheadle Hulme branch to learn the ropes and develop his abilities."

"We have policies in place to enable unpaid work, and are reviewing the situation in this instance."

Tom's mother explained she had been "profoundly affected" by how the public had reacted to her talking about her family's story.

Tom, who has specific communication needs, was praised for his work ethic by store leadership.

"He gave more than six hundred hours of his time purely because he desired community connection, be helpful, and create value," commented his mum.

Frances recognized and acknowledged employees at Waitrose's Cheadle Hulme store for assisting him, stating: "They welcomed him and were absolutely brilliant."

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

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

He posted on X that Tom had received "deeply concerning" treatment and vowed to "support him to secure alternative employment that functions".

The official declared the local government body "strongly urges each company - such as Waitrose - to sign up to our recently launched inclusion initiative".

Conversing with Frances, who announced of the alternative position on BBC Radio Manchester, the Labour mayor stated: "Congratulations for raising awareness because we need a huge awareness campaign here."

She consented to his proposal to become an advocate for the program.