You get catch up patron orders every day if you are behind. Yes, there is a limited amount so its also a time gated catch-up, but you do catch up. (Except for enchanting, enchanting can catch up in one day)
I do think that there should be a lot more catch up work orders available if you are far behind. You could get more per day, or they could refresh more often, and they could be significantly cheaper to complete for some professions.
I think overall the system is great though, I love that I actually engage with crafting now rather than just fill a skill bar for completion’s sake and never touch it again. But yeah it could use some improvements.