Teenager told 'you're too ill to work', then same health firm tells her she's too fit to claim benefits

A recovering anorexic who was deemed unfit for a job she applied for was then told she was not eligible for benefits as she was too healthy.

Nicola Hobbs, 19, from Hurstpierpoint, West Sussex, failed a routine health check needed to work at a council-run children's centre.

Without any source of income, she applied for employment support allowance only to be told she would not be able to get it as she had been assessed as being fit enough to work.



She said she was shocked to then find out the same healthcare company was contracted by the county council and the Department for Work and Pensions to carry out both health assessments.

She said: "It's ridiculous that the same company can say two completely different things about the same person. I really wanted to get back to work - the last thing I wanted was to be sitting around at home claiming benefits, and I thought a job like this would help to build my confidence."

A spokeswoman for Atos Healthcare, which carried out the two assessments, said the two tests had different criteria.