Autistic volunteer accepts paid job at Waitrose after being ‘sacked’ in row over free working
An autistic volunteer ‘sacked’ from stacking shelves at Waitrose when his mother asked if he could be paid has been offered a proper job, the supermarket announced today.
Tom Boyd, 28, had been working for free at a branch of the retailer in Cheadle Hulme, Greater Manchester since 2021, accompanied by a support worker.
But when his mother Frances Boyd asked if her son could be offered ‘just a few paid hours’ in July, Waitrose head office told her Mr Boyd’s work experience placement had to end.
Following a public outcry – and an offer of paid work from rival Asda – Waitrose backtracked.
And today they announced Mr Boyd will begin official employment with them in January as a ‘paid partner.’
Mrs Boyd, 61, told the BBC: ‘He got his uniform on the weekend so he’s very excited about his new job.’
Waitrose said Mr Boyd’s family had asked them to delay the start of his job until the new year to ‘avoid the busy Christmas rush.’
In the meantime, he is currently working a few hours a week at his local Asda.
Tom Boyd, 28, (pictured) had been working unpaid at the supermarket giant since 2021
When his mother Frances Boyd (pictured) asked if her son could be offered ‘just a few paid hours’ in July, Waitrose head office told her Mr Boyd’s work experience placement had to end
A Waitrose spokesman said: ‘We’re delighted that Tom has accepted our offer of paid employment and are 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 he 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 supermarket did not divulge how much Mr Boyd will be paid but, based on the company’s national rate, which has increased by 15p since October, he will receive £12.60 an hour.
Mrs Boyd said that, since she went public with her son’s story, she had met Stephen Timms, Minister for Social Security and Disability, to request the reinstatement of the government’s ‘Access to Work Plus’ scheme.
It provided help for volunteers to move into paid employment but a two year trial ended in March last year.
Mrs Boyd said Mr Timms was ‘very interested, very nice, and he listened,’ but added: ‘I’m not sure he was in the position to be able to tell us that it would open back up.’
A spokesman for the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) said: ‘We are delighted that Tom is starting paid work, and we wish him all the best for the future.’
He added that the DWP was ‘investing’ £1bn a year in employment support by the end of the decade to help sick, disabled, or neurodivergent people move into good, secure jobs.
‘An independent expert panel is looking at how employers can boost workplace inclusivity,’ the spokesman said.
Staff at the supermarket had allowed Mr Boyd to volunteer after his parents and support workers reached out to them four years ago.
He eventually clocked up more than 600 hours ‘work’ – prompting his mother’s request for payment this summer.
Mr Boyd received support from Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, who said he had suffered ‘truly terrible’ treatment and vowed to ‘support him to find another placement’.
The mayor added that Greater Manchester Combined Authority ‘would encourage all employers, including Waitrose, to sign up to our brand new Bee Neuro-inclusive Code of Practice’.
Mrs Boyd, a former charity director, blamed Waitrose head office for turning down her request for paid work for her son.
She said bosses were alarmed by the number of unpaid shifts he had completed and announced he would not be able to work again until the situation was resolved.
Mrs Boyd said her son ‘absolutely loved’ his job and admitted she was forced to lie to him, saying the store had been closed for cleaning, to avoid telling him exactly why he could not go back.
Speaking about the incident, Mrs Boyd told BBC Breakfast: ‘He started at Waitrose because he was on a college placement. It began with one hour a week and it started building up over time as it progressed and got better at it and used to doing it and everything was working.
‘Eventually, when he left college we asked if he could increase that time to two days which it did. We thought this is working out, well why don’t we ask Waitrose if there is the possibility of paid work.’
Explaining his role at the store, Mrs Boyd added: ‘He was bringing stock down from the stockroom, taking it onto the shop floor, stacking the shelves, tidying the shelves, putting everything in order and making sure everything was fully stocked.
‘He absolutely loved it. He loved that sense of belonging and the structure of going to work and the independence it gave him and feeling like a working man.
‘We’ve told him he was a working man once he started to go out and finish college and he used to say: “I’m working like my dad and my brother”.’
Once the placement was ended, Mrs Boyd said her son struggled to understand why he could no longer carry on working at Waitrose.
She continued: ‘We had to sort of make a story up and say that the shop was being cleaned temporarily and that he couldn’t go into work until they cleaned it and then he might be going back and we left it at that.’
