The grocer had previously said that if staff were “physically well enough themselves to work”, it would explore the option of allowing them to work from home.

Waitrose would pay its staff in full while they remained at home, but its ‘time bank’ system meant workers would need to make up that time by working overtime for no extra pay when they returned to work, covering up to two weeks’ worth of hours missed.

However, last night Waitrose said: “We’re really sorry that we got it wrong. We’ve listened to our Partners and changed our policy.”