YOU SUPPORTED HER LIKE FAMILY
Son’s tribute to Sainsbury’s for keeping mother in job she loved while her dementia worsened
WHEN a Sainsbury’s worker’s dementia worsened five years ago, her family assumed she would be sent packing.
Instead, her bosses went to extreme lengths to ensure she could stay – even inventing new roles for her.
Her grateful son Doron Salomon said: ‘Sainsbury’s has 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.
‘I think Sainsbury’s normalised her life. They served as a reminder of her self-worth every day at a time when she was quite literally losing everything she once was.’
Mr Salomon, who doesn’t want his mother named, said she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in her early 50s. She is now 61. The degenerative brain disorder meant she had to give up her job as a bookkeeper but in 2012 she successfully applied to Sainsbury’s as a picker for online deliveries.
The shop where she worked, in Kenton, north London, was made aware of her illness the following year and asked what they could do to help.
Mr Salomon said: ‘There have been so many times Sainsbury’s could have let her go. Instead, every time my dad was called in for a meeting, fearing the worst, it was because they had noticed a decline, were concerned and wanted to know what more they could do.’
Last October, an occupational health assessment showed the illness was advanced, making her unemployable. ‘We assumed it was the end of the line,’ Mr Salomon said. ‘It wasn’t. Sainsbury’s persevered and stuck by her once again.’
Before her final shift on Saturday, she was given the task of cleaning tote boxes – something which had become ‘the most important job in the world’ to her, according to her son. Mr Salomon added: ‘Sainsbury’s were more than just an employer ... [they] supported her like a family. They made her struggle lighter and brighter.’
A Sainsbury’s spokesman said: ‘Doron’s mum was a much-loved colleague and an inspiration to all of us. We’d like to thank her for her years of service and wish her all the best for the future.’
Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt praised the company for its compassion, tweeting: ‘So impressive Sainsbury’s, thank you for leading the way.’