Careers Support For Students and Graduates With Long-Covid
Long Covid is mainly affecting people of working age, in different ways and for different lengths of time. It has become apparent that a significant minority of those who contracted COVID-19, even with initially mild symptoms, do not quickly return to full health and have found themselves living for months with a range of debilitating and fluctuating symptoms affecting various body systems and functions. This condition – commonly known as Long COVID – has been identified to have two distinct stages:
- Ongoing symptomatic COVID-19 – symptoms that last 4-12 weeks
- Post-COVID-19 Syndrome – symptoms that last for more than 12 weeks and can’t be explained by another diagnosis
Frequently reported symptoms of Post-COVID-19 Syndrome include fluctuating levels of :
- Fatigue – both physical and mental (including the temporary cognitive impairment affecting ability to focus, sustain concentration and process complex information often referred as ‘Brain Fog’)
- Respiratory distress and chest pain
- Loss of stamina and post-exertional malaise
- Other physical symptoms and impairments
- Mental Health difficulties (Anxiety, Depression and for some symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder)
People who will have been living with Post-COVID-19 Syndrome for a year or more meet the Equalities Act’s definition of disability in terms of both duration and impact. They will therefore become entitled to the Act’s protections against discrimination, including the requirement that Employers consider Reasonable Adjustments to mitigate the risk of discrimination in recruitment processes.
If you are a student or graduate affected by Long-Covid and think it may impact on your job search or ability to work, the Careers and Employability Service is here to support you with your next steps, helping you to clarify how you can best move forward with your plans.
We can be flexible as to when and how we connect with you. To book an appointment with a Career Development Adviser, please call 01273 642855 or email careers@brighton.ac.uk.
Here are some resources to find out more about Long COVID, the UK definition of disability and some of the other conditions and adjustments mentioned above.
Returning To Work | Your COVID Recovery
COVID-19 rapid guideline: managing the long-term effects of COVID-19
Long COVID | British Lung Foundation (blf.org.uk)
Here you have resources from the Careers and Employability Service webpage on career planning what career is right for me? and on disclosing a disability.