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Waitrose has changed its decision not to offer a paying position to an autistic man after previously stating he had to stop stacking shelves at the store where he had worked unpaid for several years.

During the summer, the young man's parent asked whether her 28-year-old son Tom Boyd could be given a position at the supermarket in the Manchester area, but her proposal was ultimately declined by the company's corporate office.

On Thursday, competing supermarket the grocery chain stated it was interested in providing Tom compensated work at its Cheadle Hulme store.

Addressing the supermarket's reversal, the parent commented: "We are going to consider the offer and determine whether it is in what's best for our son to resume working... and are having additional conversations with the company."

'Conducting an inquiry'

A official for the supermarket chain said: "We'd like to welcome Tom back, in compensated work, and are requesting assistance from his family and the charity to facilitate this."

"We anticipate to have him return with us in the near future."

"We are committed about helping workers into the workplace who might typically not be provided employment."

"As such, we gladly accepted Tom and his care assistant into our Manchester location to build skills and build his confidence."

"We have policies in place to support unpaid work, and are investigating what's happened in this instance."

Frances explained she had been "overwhelmed" by how the public had answered to her sharing her son's experiences.

The young man, who has limited communication skills, was commended for his commitment by store leadership.

"He donated over 600 hours of his effort solely because he desired community connection, make a difference, and create value," commented his mum.

Tom's mother recognized and acknowledged staff at the local supermarket for supporting him, stating: "They included him and were absolutely brilliant."

"I think he was just flying under the radar - operations were proceeding normally until it reached corporate level."

Both individuals have been backed by regional leader the public figure.

He stated on X that Tom had received "deeply concerning" treatment and committed to "assist him to find another placement that succeeds".

The mayor stated the local government body "strongly urges every business - like Waitrose - to participate to our recently launched Bee Neuroinclusive Code of Practice".

Conversing with Frances, who announced of the alternative position on media outlets, the elected official commented: "Well done for highlighting the issue because we need a huge awareness campaign here."

She consented to his proposal to serve as a representative for the program.