21-year-old who was signed off work for life slams 'insane' ADHD sick note system
A 21-year-old who was signed off work for life has slammed the government for writing her off due to her ADHD and anxiety diagnosis before she returned to employment as a zookeeper.
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Caller Jo spoke LBC's Tom Swarbrick at Drive after Children's Commissioner, Dame Rachel de Souza, warned that there are thousands of hidden youngsters not in education, employment or training (Neets) falling through the cracks.
Jo told Tom she was signed off work “in perpetuity” during the Covid pandemic while waiting for ADHD re-diagnosis and support, arguing long NHS waits and lack of interim help can leave people effectively parked outside the workforce.
She said: "I was diagnosed at the age of 16. I came off my medication at the age of 19. And then when I went back to the NHS to get my medication back, they said they had to re-refer me to get diagnosed again.
Jo added: "[I was signed off] in perpetuity. They gave me about 2 or 3 sick notes for a couple of weeks, and then eventually I was signed off work permanently. I'm no longer signed off work, however."
She was then asked by Tom whether the assessment by youth unemployment tsar Alan Milburn of the "insane' ADHD sick note system applied to her.
Jo told Tom: "I totally agree. I feel at the time it felt kind of what needed to happen for me, but eventually you do get to realise that that's not. You can't continue on your life doing nothing.
"I do think it is quite ridiculous that people get signed off work perpetually without receiving any support. It's almost as if they get forgotten about in the system and they don't receive any support back into work."
Jo's intervention came after the LBC exclusively revealed that four-in-five young Brits thought that employers were not doing enough to curb the Neet crisis.
Findings from the survey suggest that despite the government’s efforts to improve employment prospects for the nearly one million 16-24-year-olds not in education, employment or training in the UK, many young people feel there is still insufficient support to help them secure a job.