Lying in bed for 38 hours, absolutely exhausted after overdoing things, Chris Black knew something had to change.
The 37-year-old has struggled so much since being struck with long Covid that he has had to step away from two roles in the legal sector, as he says he was not able to sustain full-time work alongside his health condition.
He told The i Paper that he was rejected for PIP (personal independence payment) and believes there is a lack of meaningful support from the Government for people with fluctuating chronic conditions, such as long Covid.
He initially applied for PIP, rather than other benefits, as he wished to continue working part-time and wanted to use the payment to supplement his working income, but says the design of the benefit means he was considered ineligible.
“I am too sick to work, but not sick enough for support,” he said. “The current benefits system, with things like PIP, seems to have no place for those who can’t work full-time. But this is not good for anyone, including the economy. If someone is working three days a week, they will still be contributing taxes.“
“While PIP recognises long-term conditions, it doesn’t take into account whether you are able to sustain full-time work, and it struggles to account for fluctuating conditions. If you force people to work too much when they have an illness, it makes them sicker and they are sicker for longer as they don’t have the time and space to recover.”
Chris, who was living in London for eight years, first became ill with Covid in June 2022. He recalled it felt like a normal cold at first, but he also developed an irritating skin rash.
“I recovered after a couple of weeks and went back to the gym. However, I noticed things weren’t normal after I finished exercising. I would get severe post-exertional malaise, get sick and exhausted. That is when I realised it was long Covid.”
Chris’s condition deteriorated until exercise became impossible and cognitive tasks and focusing for too long became a lot more difficult, affecting his ability to work.
Chris says that he is too sick to work, but not deemed sick enough for benefits (Photo: Chris Black)While Chris was eventually admitted to an NHS long Covid clinic in August 2023 after a long wait, he says the support consisted of periodic check-ins and symptom tracking, with limited treatment options.
Chris applied for PIP in November 2024. The payment is supposed to help people with extra living costs if they have a long-term physical or mental health condition or disability and difficulty doing certain everyday tasks or getting around because of that condition.
As his symptoms worsened, in desperation, Chris turned to private healthcare, which led to substantial financial costs.
Between March and December 2025 alone, his consultations and tests totalled over £13,000 through his medical insurance, alongside more than £8,000 of his own money.
Chris on holiday in Mexico before his illness (Photo: Chris Black)Chris became ill with Covid again in September 2025, and his long-term condition went significantly downhill with more brain fog, nausea and low energy capacity.
“If I had received a regular payment such as PIP, it would have allowed me to reduce my working hours and rest more to support my recovery. But this benefit is not suited to conditions like long Covid,” he said.
In January this year, Chris stopped working because he could no longer sustain full-time employment. He could no longer afford his £1,400 a month rent in London, so he moved out, got rid of most of his stuff and took his remaining possessions to his parents’ home.
The exertion of moving in March this year led to such an extreme crash that Chris ended up spending 38 hours in bed.
Chris, who has long Covid with subtype ME/CFS, says he is lucky enough to have had savings, so he has used them to go to Thailand, where he is now living.
He is currently at a yoga retreat and while he cannot do many of the activities, he says he hopes “the calmness will wash over me.”
“While I have been very unfortunate that my quality of life has been significantly reduced, I am privileged to have enough money to take six months off work and try to return to a manageable and sustainable baseline.
“But if my health doesn’t improve soon, the outlook for the rest of my life looks very bleak. At my age, most of my friends are settling down, getting married and having children. For me, having this condition for around four years, and with two years of lockdown before that, it feels like my life has been on pause for six years – and I may never recover.
“I must remain hopeful that I can regain some of my health and, at some point, re-enter the workforce. If not, I will not be able to live in the UK as I will have no means of income and am not eligible for benefits.”
Chris is in Thailand and is hoping he can recuperate enough to regain his health (Photo: Chris Black)Chris added: “If we had a more logical approach to chronic illness where people are allowed significant time off work to rest and recuperate with support from the Government and welfare system, then people could return to work faster.
“A system that recognises partial capacity for work would not only support people with chronic illness, but it would also allow many of us to remain economically active, rather than being pushed out of the workforce entirely.”
A Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) spokesperson said: “We are sorry to hear about this person’s situation. We know PIP can be improved, which is why we launched the Timms Review, working with disabled people and their organisations to ensure the benefit is fair and fit for the future.
“We also opened a Call for Evidence in March so people can share their views on how the benefit should be reformed.”
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