An attendant at a Canadian restaurant who was sacked for giving a bite-sized doughnut, worth 16 cents, to an agitated toddler was given her job back on Thursday after the case received wide media attention.

Nicole Lilliman, a single mother, said she was dismissed from a London, Ontario, outlet of the Tim Hortons coffee and doughnut chain after video cameras captured the 27-year-old giving a Timbit to a toddler.

"It was just out of my heart, she (the toddler) was pointing and going 'ah, ah' I should have gone to my purse and got the change, but it was busy", Lilliman told the Toronto Star newspaper.

Tim Hortons said on Thursday that the firing was a mistake. "It was the unfortunate action of one manager who unfortunately made an overzealous decision, and thankfully we were able to rectify the situation", said company spokeswoman Rachel Douglas.