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Waitrose has overturned its ruling not to offer a paying position to an autistic man after originally indicating he had to cease working at the location where he had donated his time for several years.

During the summer, Tom's mother asked whether her family member her son could be offered a position at the supermarket in the Manchester area, but her application was ultimately declined by the company's corporate office.

This week, rival chain Asda announced it was interested in providing Tom employment hours at its Manchester location.

Addressing the supermarket's reversal, Tom's mother said: "We are going to consider the offer and choose whether it is in what's best for our son to resume working... and are having further discussions with the supermarket."

'Conducting an inquiry'

A representative for the supermarket chain stated: "We'd like to have Tom return, in paid employment, and are requesting assistance from his family and the support organization to facilitate this."

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

"We care deeply about supporting individuals into the employment who might usually not be provided employment."

"Therefore, we gladly accepted Tom and his support worker into our Manchester location to gain experience and develop his abilities."

"We have guidelines in place to enable volunteering, and are investigating what's happened in this instance."

The parent explained she had been "profoundly affected" by how the public had reacted to her talking about her child's situation.

The individual, who has challenges with communication, was recognized for his commitment by store leadership.

"He donated more than six hundred hours of his energy purely because he sought inclusion, make a difference, and have an impact," stated his parent.

The parent recognized and acknowledged staff at the local supermarket for assisting him, adding: "They included him and were wonderfully accommodating."

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

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

He stated on online platforms that Tom had received "truly terrible" treatment and promised to "help him to find another placement that functions".

The official declared the Greater Manchester Combined Authority "strongly urges each company - like Waitrose - to sign up to our brand new Bee Neuroinclusive Code of Practice".

Discussing with Frances, who announced of the employment opportunity on media outlets, the Labour mayor said: "Congratulations for raising awareness because we need a significant public information effort here."

She accepted his offer to become an advocate for the campaign.