Son thanks Sainsbury's for 'undeniably' helping with mother's Alzheimer’s by keeping her in a job for five years

A son has thanked Sainsbury's for helping his mother find meaning in life through employment, while battling the effects of Alzheimer's disease.

In a Twitter thread shared thousands of times, Doron Salomon thanked the supermarket for helping his mother remain in her job, even as the disease got progressively worse.

Before being diagnosed, Mrs Salomon, an organised woman who was good with numbers, worked as a bookmaker. In 2012 she was offered a job at Sainsbury's as a "picker", doing shopping for online customers.

Her employers consistently changed her role to suit her rapidly changing skills and needs as her condition deteriorated.

For the last year Mrs Salomon arrived at work confused as to why she was there. Despite this, staff at the Kenton store in North London did everything they could to accommodate her.

Mr Salomon wrote: “For context, Sainsbury's have seen my mum deteriorate to the point that every day for the last year or so she has gone into the store confused, as if she'd never been there before. They have always stood by her, going above and beyond to make sure she's happy and feeling valued.”

The store was made aware of any developments in her condition and made efforts to support her. They offered regular retraining, had welfare meetings with her and Doron's dad and even created her a new role.

When her condition got worse and she was no longer able to carry out her "picker" duties, rather than letting her go, she was given the task of cleaning tote boxes.

Her new role gave her a sense of "self-worth and pride", something Doron said has "undeniably helped with aspects of her Alzheimer's".

Even when her occupational health assessment showed her Alzheimer's was advanced, essentially meaning she was unemployable, Sainsbury's did not give up on her.

She was kept on for a further six months before she was eventually allowed to leave.

She completed her last day at work on Saturday, after five years of employment, something her son said would not have been possible without Sainsbury's compassion.

Doron said: "My mum was emotional but relieved. Senior management have acted with compassion and handled everything with class and dignity."

He added: "This thread doesn't really do @sainsburys justice but I wanted to publicly thank them on behalf of my family. They have been a fabulous employer but more than that, on a human level, the people working at the Kenton store have shown sensitivity, kindness and care."