Published on 12, July, 2020
I have secured a new job beginning in January - many thanks for the encouragement of people in this community who gave me the confidence to move forward.
I am about to sign my new contract and noticed a clause that allows immediate termination if I am not "of sound mind".
Is this allowed? What constitutes "of sound mind"? Has anybody else seen this in their contracts because I have never noticed it before?
I do suffer with my mental health and have very bad anxiety, a few motor tics and some verbal ones too -
(I nearly had a diagnosis of Tourettes when I was a kid, but the psychologist wanted to wait to see if I grew out of them for some reason. I grew out of those tics but developed new ones.I do tic uncontrollably quite a lot)
- I am worried about being stigmatised at work for my mental health. Any advice? If I was fired on the basis of this clause could I fight it by complaining to ACAS?
Seems to be an odd clause - how could it be measured or enforced without ending up in court? Surely, if you've lost your mind, work would be the last thing that would bother you?
Companies always seem to include unenforceable text in contracts.
Yeah I just don't see how it works, whether it's a new thing people are putting in contracts or if it's something that's always been there. It could be something they have in all their contracts or it could just be for me!
I found this comment on a Mumsnet discussion from 2010 - seems like this clause is something archaic you can probably just ignore:
"It used to be standard wording in many employment contracts - the idea predates the disability discrimination legislation. Also common in directors' service agreements.
I wouldn't be too concerned about it as it is just standard wording. The advice I give employers is either not to bother putting in this wording or if it's in an existing standard contract not to rely on it - if someone is ill (for whatever reason, disabled or not) there are proper processes to follow in order to terminate the employment if that is the only reasonable way forward, and most employers will want to make sure they follow these to avoid claims."
Best wishes in your new job!