LIVING WITH LONG COVID

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: april 2023 :: RMTnews 12 The Covid-19 pandemic continues to impact heavily on all our lives and one of the long-lasting impacts is the emergence of Long Covid, an umbrella term that refers to multiple different symptoms people may experience. Whilst many people infected by Covid-19 may fully recover, significant numbers will experience ongoing and debilitating symptoms that last weeks, months or years following the initial infection. This prolonged condition has been given the umbrella term Long Covid. Recognition of Long Covid was accelerated by people-led advocacy groups such Long Covid Support and their Employment Group advocates for better support to stay in, return to or leave work well. The Office of National Statistics (ONS) reported that, as of August 2021, 970,000 people in the UK were experiencing self-reported Long Covid. The most recent data from January 2023, shows that this has increased to two million people. Early research into reinfections shows that the risk of Long Covid is still present in subsequent infections, even if not experienced the first time. This report summarises the findings of a survey of over 3,000 people with Long Covid on their experiences of work and research found shockingly high levels of poor treatment by employers. One in seven respondents had lost their job because of reasons connected to Long Covid. Given the high numbers of people experiencing Long Covid, this finding is extremely concerning and many people losing their jobs could be in key sector roles. Two thirds of respondents (66 per cent) said that they had experienced one or more types of unfair treatment at work. This includes one in six (16 per cent) who had been subject to bullying and/or harassment at work, one in 13 (8 per cent) told us they had been threatened with disciplinary action and almost a quarter of respondents (23 per cent) said their employer has questioned whether they have Long Covid and/or the impact of their symptoms. Half of respondents (49 per cent) said that they had reason to believe they had contracted Covid-19 at work highlighting that many people are being continually failed by their employer, from a lack of health and safety measures, including ventilation, to poor treatment in response to Long Covid. Symptoms Most common symptoms were fatigue (96 per cent), cognitive dysfunction (84 per cent) and shortness of breath or difficulty breathing (73 per cent) amongst a list of many. LIVING WITH LONG COVID TUC calls for urgent action to prevent long-lasting inequalities