An autistic man who was sacked by Waitrose after four years working there unpaid has been welcomed back to the supermarket in a paid role.
Tom Boyd, 28, worked more than 600 hours, unpaid, at the Cheadle Hulme store where he stacked shelves and unloaded stock.
But he was let go from the supermarket giant when his mum, Frances Boyd, and support workers asked if he could have a few hours of paid work.
He was offered a new job at Asda in October, where he is currently working a few hours a week.
Now Waitrose has announced Tom will be re-joining as a ‘paid partner’ in the new year.
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A Waitrose spokesperson said: ‘We’re delighted that Tom has accepted our offer of paid employment and looking forward to welcoming him to start in January, as requested by his family.
‘We have Tom’s best interests at heart and we’ve worked closely with his family throughout to ensure Tom gets the support he needs.
‘We’re learning from this situation and working with charities and specialists to make sure we can continue to offer fair and rewarding opportunities for people with neurodiversity.’
The delay in Tom’s start date to avoid the busy Christmas rush.
After growing public backlash, Tom’s local Asda store offered him a job for two five-hour paid shifts a week, before Waitrose got in touch with his family.
His mum told BBC: ‘We made it very exciting that we had some good news and that he’s got a job as a ‘working man’ at Asda and he was very happy.’
She said Tom has plans to buy Christmas party food that he will save his money for.
‘He’s very happy about going back to Waitrose as well because he knows it so well,’ she continued.
Since Tom’s story went public and gathered much attention, Frances met with Stephen Timms, government minister for social security and disability.
She has called for the Access to Work Plus Scheme, which ended in March 2024, to be reinstated.
This scheme previously provided ongoing support to ensure people like Tom could go into paid employment.
Plans to open back up the scheme have not yet been confirmed.
The Department for Work and Pensions has been contacted for comment.
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