Waitrose responds after mum claims her autistic son was ‘dropped’ for asking about pay

An autistic man who was told he had to stop stacking shelves at the Waitrose supermarket where he had volunteered for four years has now been offered a job by a rival chain, after his story went viral.

Frances Boyd said she was “overwhelmed” by how people had responded to her talking about her 28-year-old son’s experiences at Waitrose’s store in Cheadle Hulme, Greater Manchester.

Tom Boyd had been working unpaid there since 2021, accompanied by a support worker. When Frances asked in July if her son could be offered “just a few paid hours”, Waitrose head office told her Tom’s work experience placement had to end.

Credit: Instagram/@frances.boyd.18

Speaking to BBC Radio Manchester, Frances said: “We’ve had some great news – Asda have offered him two five-hour paid shifts a week. It’s overwhelming and they are flexible to say if at any time he is struggling they are fine. How amazing that a company could do this.”

Tom received the backing of Greater Manchester’s mayor Andy Burnham, who posted on X that Tom had received “truly terrible” treatment and promised to “support him to find another placement that works”.

He said Greater Manchester Combined Authority “would encourage all employers, including Waitrose, to sign up to our brand new Bee Neuroinclusive Code of Practice”.

Frances Boyd, BBC News

Speaking with Frances, who broke the news of Tom’s job offer on BBC Radio Manchester, Burnham said: “Good on you for raising awareness because we need a huge awareness campaign here.”

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Frances accepted his on-air offer to be an advocate for the campaign.

A Waitrose & Partners spokesperson said the company worked with a number of charities to provide work experience and was “well experienced in making reasonable adjustments to help people succeed at work”.

They said: “We are sorry to hear of Tom’s story and whilst we cannot comment on individual cases, we are investigating as a priority.”

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Featured Image Credit: Instagram/@frances.boyd.18