Can employment be terminated if you become a metal health patient?

[BlueLittleLady]

I am analysing my employment contract and there is a section in it that raises an eyebrow. The contract is for a simple employee on a modest salary (i.e. not a director). The employer is a small business.

 

Specifically, is point 13.1(b) legal?

Below is section 13.1

 

 

13 TERMINATION

 

13.1 This Agreement and the Employee's employment with the Company hereunder may be terminated immediately by the Company without prior notice if the Employee at any time:

 

(a) has a bankruptcy order made against her or if she makes any arrangement or composition with his creditors or has an interim order made against him pursuant to Section 252 of the Insolvency Act 1986; or

 

(b) becomes of unsound mind or is or becomes a patient for the purpose of any stature relating to mental health; or

 

© is or becomes prohibited by law from being a director.

 

 

Is it just me, or does the above sound a bit unfair for a simple employee?

 

Please let me know your views xx

[smokejumper]

I wonder how this works with the equality act............they need to show good reason.

 

Would any of the contract apply to you, or are you just showing it in surprise .

[renegadeimp]

I guess it depends on what the company actually trades in.

[becky2585]

That clause is most commonly found in a directors service agreement rather than an employment contract! Which industry are you in?

 

Don't forget that any rights exercised under a contract must be exercised reasonably.

[BlueLittleLady]

Industry: digital marketing. I was working with social media and a bit with seo.

[BlueLittleLady]

@smokejumper - this was the contract i signed. I have a physical disability, not mental, for which I was dismissed. While the mental illness would not apply to me, I was thinking that maybe I could also use this in Tribunal to show what attitude the employer has to disability in a holistic view.

[smokejumper]

I'm not an expert, just picked up some stuff through reading and research.

 

I would have thought this was against the equality act............unless they can show good reason for it.

 

Also being sacked for being disabled is also wrong, but need the whole story.

 

Where they aware you were disabled.

[BlueLittleLady]

@smokejumper Yeah. I told them I have a disability during my interview. Unfortunately my condition kept on deteriorating and I needed major treatment. Cut the long story short, before my operations I asked to be able to work one day a week from home, to which they didn't respond, I wrote a grievance, which got me automatically dismissed on the following work day. I appealed, they didn't respond. I've filed a claim to Employment Tribunal and now building my case up, so going through all bits of paper. Employer's policy is to deny and skew everything and they claim they support people with disability. My argument is obviously that they don't. And I thought that it's quite funny that even the contract suggests how little care they take when it comes to people and illnesses (although it refers to mental health rather than physical)

[smokejumper]

How long had you been there.

 

Lots more info needed, which other members will need to know.

 

What did you put on your ET1

[steampowered]

I'm not sure any of that would be enforceable for a low-level job in marketing. It looks like the employer has taken a "standard form" contract designed for a different context and has not properly adapted the contract. I think this provision of the contract might be a red herring. Unless they specifically mentioned it in their ET3 I would be focussing on the other aspects of your claim (presumably disability discrimination? in which case you need to think very carefully about how you intend to prove that you meet the strict legal definition of "disabled")