Is this contract legal?

[Goldandgold]

Employment contract for new job states that if you are off sick for longer for 6 months they can terminate your employment.
Then it goes on to say that they can also end your employment at any time due to a mental health crisis.
Is this right?

Several other new starters have also refused to sign this contract.
It also says that you automatically opt out of the 48 hours week (which I don’t want to do).
And you have to work as much overtime as the company requires.

If in the UK, it doesn't sound legal but I'd get it checked. Ring ACAS or union if you are a member (you can join a union even if there is no official one for your work. I'm a member of GMB and have used them for advice on policy changes).

Basically, you cannot contract out of statute law...which means that the contract has to be lawful, if it isn't that section of the contract doesn't stand. Even if certain bits are unlawful, it doesn't negate the whole contract.

You can dismiss someone pretty easily anyway within the first 2 years of their employment, with a few exceptions. After this time, you would generally need to go down a disciplinary route, unless your conduct was deemed to be gross negligence (so for example you had a mental health crisis and attacked someone).

Sometimes mental health conditions are classed as disabilities which gives you a little more protection.
www.acas.org.uk/supporting-mental-health-workplace

HTH

The 48 hour week is meaningless for all but mobile workers, but openly declaring that overtime will not be optional is illegal.

"After this time, you would generally need to go down a disciplinary route,"
Not so. You can dismiss for sickness absence or capability.

Assuming you are in the UK: contact ACAS... send them a copy of it!

Th sickness thing is legal, a company can ask you to leave in the interests of their business if you have been off sick for a particular amount of time, 6 months is normal.

The mental health thing isn't legal if the MH condition is a recognised condition within the statue, this it is considered a disability. If it is not regognised by the law then it is legal (likely needs some clarification)

To opt out of the time directive is common in an employment contract but it isn't legal to force you to do so. You can opt to not sign this bit, but depending on the business type they may feel it is necessary for their employees to opt out and withdraw the offer, which is legal.

If you refuse to sign the contract but continue to work in the company, surely you will be deemed to have accepted the terms and conditions anyway? Thats what we were told when some of our staff refused to sign a new contract that actually gave them more 'rights' and clarified several previously non contracted points but we changed something to read "the company may require you...." whereas before it had been "the company WILL require you..".

If you are not happy with the contract you can try and negotiate it. Make sure you tell them in writing that you are unable to sign the contract as it stands and that you would like to discuss it. That way it would be harder for them to say that by working you are accepting the terms.
A lot of contracts issued by work places are just standard ones that contain a lot of clauses that wouldn’t even be relevant, for example waiving your right to the 48 hour week - my contract had that in it but my workplace isn’t even open 48 hours per week. I just asked them to remove it as it wasn’t relevant. There may be more room for negotiation than you think.
Get some advice before you sign anything.