Abygail Tustin, 28, from Potters Bar has explained the impact which being furloughed from her job had on her mental health.

The first lockdown in March threw my employment into confusion. I had the misfortune of changing jobs two weeks before lockdown, moving from a garden centre café in Crews Hill to another similar position at the Dutch Nursery in Brookmans Park.

This left me without any income from mid-March. I could not be furloughed by my new employer and was refused furlough by my old employer, although under the Treasury's rules I could be temporarily rehired and placed on the scheme.

This was initially anger-inducing, which became a quiet frustration as it felt unfair and unjust. I'd fallen through the cracks in the Job Retention Scheme - ones which have still not been fixed.

I was able to survive on my savings, and living with my mum in Potters Bar meant that I had housing stability, but the situation took a mental toll. Being unlucky was heartbreaking. I felt that all those around me were receiving compassionate help from the government that I had been excluded from.

Finding and engaging with the ExcludedUK campaign was an outlet for these feelings. It made me realise that there were thousands of people in the same position as me.

In the past I have suffered with general anxiety disorder and the worry about finding work again loomed large. A stable job, giving structure to my week, is something that really helps to keep my anxiety under control.

From April onwards I threw myself into the mission of finding work. I applied to the ‘Pick for Britain’ campaign and directly to 15+ farms around the south east, all without success. This was gutting as the press were reporting a shortage of workers, so why couldn't I help?

I also completed a warehousing course run by Twin Training in the hope that I would be employed in food distribution. But having not had experience in these positions I am not too surprised that my applications were not successful. I was starting to feel listless. Although I’d put in place an artificial structure for my day built around job-seeking a feeling of constantly being on edge was starting to creep back in.

In late summer I was grateful to be reemployed by the Dutch Nursery. It was a lifeline to be in a social, lively environment again and meet a number of new colleges with their own lockdown stories. This gave me a revived positive outlook.

I was also placed on the furlough scheme for the subsequent lockdowns - an incredible relief financially after my experience of the first lockdown.