Waitrose Facing Backlash For Sacking Autistic Worker After Four Years Of Unpaid Work

The mum of a man with autism who worked unpaid for over four years at a Waitrose store in Greater Manchester has revealed that her son was sacked from the company after asking if he could have a few paid hours.

Tom Boyd, 27, had been doing unpaid work experience at the Cheadle Hulme shop for two full mornings every week, mainly stacking shelves, for 4+ years. He’d given more than 600 hours of his time ‘purely because he wanted to belong, contribute and make a difference’.

According to mum Frances, Waitrose dismissed Tom as soon as he asked for a few paid hours, stating they wouldn’t offer him a paid job because he ‘couldn’t do the full role’. Here’s Frances’s story in full:

So basically: Waitrose, a company that makes millions in profits every year, was happy to let this autistic young man work in their store for several years without being paid. The moment he asked to be paid for his time, they refused to let him come back.

Which means this wasn’t a “placement” or some kind of “work experience” for the lad, but rather a large, multi-million pound company taking advantage of an autistic person to use as free labour. The moment his labour wasn’t free anymore, they kicked him to the curb.

Imagine – Waitrose bosses would have felt they were doing a benevolent thing by allowing Tom to work at their store and be a part of the team, but in the end, their treatment of him shows that it was nothing but blatant exploitation.

A Waitrose & Partners spokesman said: “We’re absolutely committed to being an inclusive employer.

“We work closely with a number of charities, and employ people from a huge range of backgrounds, including those who require additional support. When we offer work experience, it’s always with good intentions and to help people gain experience.

“While we are not able to discuss individual cases, we would always need to complete our investigation before agreeing the best resolution.

“This is already under way and we’re in touch with the family and the charity to reassure them that we’re working urgently on this.”

I mean, they only way Waitrose can really save face here is if they give Tom a paid role at one of their stores, but at the end of the day, if they don’t think he’s worth the pay, then maybe they shouldn’t hire him. Even if it is a horrible look for them.

All’s well that ends well, though; according to Manchester Evening News, another supermarket chain has already come forward and offered Tom paid shifts. I doubt they would do that without receiving the publicity for it though, so I guess we’ll find out who it is pretty soon. My money’s on LIDL.

For the barber who charged extra for ‘special needs boys’ and had no idea that was offensive, click HERE.