Autistic volunteer axed by Waitrose offered job at rival supermarket

Tom Boyd, 27, stacked shelves and emptied stock cages at a branch of the supermarket chain in Cheadle Hulme, Greater Manchester, where he got on well with staff.

He worked accompanied by a support worker. He started there in 2021 and has now racked up more than 600 hours of unpaid volunteer work, two days a week from 9.30am until 2pm.

His mother, Frances Boyd, contacted Waitrose to ask whether it would be possible for him to be earning something to recognise the “time, effort and heart” he had given to the supermarket - but the store refused.

However, a rival chain, Asda, has now offered Tom a job.

"We've had some great news - Asda have offered him two five-hour paid shifts a week," Frances said.

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"It's overwhelming and Asda are flexible to say if at any time he is struggling they are fine.

"How amazing that a company could do this."

The Waitrose branch told head office, who became concerned about the amount of unpaid work Tom had carried out.

They said he would not be able to carry on at the store until a solution was found.

As a result, Tom hasn’t been able to work there for two months. She did not give him the real reason to avoid upsetting him.

She told him the shop is being cleaned.

Greater Manchester's mayor Andy Burnham condemned the "terrible treatment" of Tom.

Tom’s mother told LBC this morning: “He loved it. It’s been great for his mental health and wellbeing.

“It gave him independence, belonging, purpose, everything really. “He did so many hours and it built up over time. It got to the point where head office were informed. They realised the hours that he’d done and it was a little bit of a panic.

“He was asked not to come in again until they resolved the issue.

“We had been led to believe that [paid work] was a possibility. “It wasn’t that we were pushing and pushing [for money].

“I think personally… it’s the number of hours he had done. I don’t think head office had known about it. It was happening at local level, at branch level… He had slipped through the net.

“Because of his level of disability he doesn’t understand.”

His mother said: “He's been doing it for four years, so why can't that continue?”

She wrote on social media: "They told us he couldn’t be offered a job because he couldn’t 'do the full role' - yet we know for a fact there are people in the same store being paid, and they aren’t able to do every part of the job either.

"'How is that fair?' She added: "After everything he's done, there was no apology, no thanks, and no recognition for his commitment. Just silence."

A Waitrose spokesperson said: “We care deeply about helping people into the workplace who might otherwise not be given a chance. As such, we warmly welcomed Tom and his support worker into our Cheadle Hulme branch to gain experience and build his confidence.

“We have policies in place to support volunteering, and are investigating what’s happened in Tom’s situation.

“We’d like to welcome Tom back, in paid employment, and are seeking support from his family and the charity to do so. We hope to see him back with us very soon.”