Tesco has called on the government to stop forcing youths to undertake work experience in exchange for receiving benefits, after the supermarket came in for criticism for participating in "slave labour".
The consumer giant has instead said young people will be offered a choice between being paid for a four-week placement with a "guaranteed" permanent job if they perform well, or participating in the scheme which protects benefits.
However they recommend the department of work and pensions remove the risk of losing benefits "to avoid any misunderstanding about the voluntary nature of the scheme".
A Tesco spokesperson said the change, announced on Tuesday, was not a result of protests against the supermarket for taking part in the scheme: "I think it's about doing the right thing and making it clearer, making it a scheme that's going to help people to get back into work."
The Right to Work campaign, which forced a Tesco store in Westminster to close on Saturday as part of an ongoing protest over the scheme, say they will still carry out planned demonstrations in Tesco stores across Britain on Wednesday.
Spokesperson Estelle Cooch told The Huffington Post UK: "We're protesting the government's workfare programme, we're specifically targeting Tesco at the moment, but it's not about Tesco, it's about the collusion between big business in this scheme."
In a statement following Tesco's offer to give people paid work experience, the Right to Work campaign said: "Right to Work is pleased that our campaign, alongside others, has forced Tesco to make a new offer over work placements. Congratulations to all those who joined the demonstrations, wrote to Tesco or took part in some way. This is your achievement – protest works...
"The protests planned for tomorrow go on. We are calling on campaigners to meet up at Tesco as planned, and then agree a new target, which uses workfare. We believe these include Superdrug, McDonalds, Pizza Hut, Poundland and British Home Stores."
Work and pensions secretary Iain Duncan Smith has labelled critics of the work experience scheme as the "commenting elite" with "an unjustified sense of superiority".
Richard Brasher, CEO of Tesco UK, said: "We know it is difficult for young people to give up benefits for a short-term placement with no permanent job at the end of it. So this guarantee that a job will be available provided the placement is completed satisfactorily, should be a major confidence boost for young people wanting to enter work on a permanent basis."
The company said: "We will offer the choice of paid work and the jobs guarantee to all of the remaining placements we will deliver under the scheme. Three hundred young people undertaking work experience with Tesco have already found work with us and we are confident that many more will through this approach."
Pictures from Saturday's protest at Tesco's