Ask the Expert

EXPERT

Mental Health First Aid

What experience do you have in Mental Health First Aid training?

I am a registered instructor with MHFA England delivering on-line and classroombased MHFA-certificated courses, training people to act as that first port-of-call, like a physical first aider, but for mental health. I’m also a qualified teacher with 35 years’ experience in training adults and young adults in a wide range of contexts.

Why does my business need Mental Health First Aid?

17.9 million work days were lost due to mental health issues in 2019/20 in the UK; that’s an average absence of 21.6 days per year, per employee, suffering with stress, anxiety or depression (hse.gov.uk). As you can see, when mental health issues are not well supported, your business also takes a hit. Having well-trained Mental Health First Aiders can help to identify the warning signs of someone who’s struggling, get the right support in place in good time and thereby minimise the impact on day-to-day living for the benefit of both the employee and the employer. What’s more, providing mental health support makes employees feel valued, which in turn promotes loyalty, commitment and motivation.

As an MHFA instructor how do you approach what could be a sensitive topic?

It’s important to understand and recognise that we all have different histories when it comes to education and, for some people, just being in a learning environment can be stressful. Understanding how adults learn and what the barriers to learning might be is fundamental, but mental health training has particular challenges. We must be aware that participants in mental health training may find some of the content highly emotive and that some issues can be triggering for those with ‘lived experience’ of mental health. Many come to training because they have their own experiences and want to help others. As a trainer I need to be aware that someone’s experience may influence their views on what helps with a given issue. Of course, everyone’s experience is different so what helps one person may not be the right approach for another and a First Aider has to be mindful of that.

What is the role of a Mental Health First Aider?

Just like physical first aid the main priority is to preserve life and provide support until professional help can be sought. It’s not a First Aider’s job to diagnose but to offer a non-judgemental listening ear and to signpost to information and sources of professional support. A well-trained Mental Health First Aider will be able to spot the warning signs and know how to approach someone to begin a conversation. They can also provide information to help the business adopt positive approaches in support of employee well-being.

What do Mental Health First Aiders say?

Many Mental Health First Aiders claim that this is the most important course they have done. “This course was the best course by far I have ever been on.” “Excellent course which provides a really solid knowledge base together with good case study examples.” “This course has really opened my eyes to a subject I thought I had some understanding of.”

How can I arrange Mental Health First Aid training for my organisation?

If you’d like to know more about MHFA England there is comprehensive information on their website. If you’d like to know more about the training and how to sign up, please contact Teresa Weston tweston.consultancy@gmail.com 07900 888954. Bespoke training and discounted rates are available for charities and not-for-profit organisations. If you’ve been following the extensive mental health debate throughout the pandemic and want to help, then considering Mental Health First Aid is an ideal place to start.

EXPERT

Onerous Construction Contracts

Before entering a construction contract, subcontractors and contractors should check if it is onerous. Simon Dunkling, Director at Arbicon, explains the top 10 key points to be aware of.

1. Payment Provisions

A construction contract must contain payment provisions that comply with the Construction Act, including an adequate mechanism for determining the payment schedule, providing a final date for payment, and providing for the giving of a payment notice not later than five days after the due date.

2. Defects and Retention

Clauses that make payment conditional on performance under another contract, for example the issuing of the certificate of making good defects under the main contract, or those drafted to only release retention to the subcontractor on completion of the main contract, are noncompliant with the Construction Act and payment of the retention can be forced.

3. Set-Off Clause

Be cautious with set-off clauses, those that not only allow deduction from sums due, but also require reimbursement to the employer could cause cashflow problems. Clauses which allow the employer to set-off sums due under one contract against sums reimbursable under a different contract may also be problematic.

4. Design Responsibility

Design responsibility can be a common point of contention and dispute, and if not fully understood, can lead to vulnerability to unexpected cost, time, and being contractually required to undertake design over and above what was intended.

5. The Right to Extension of Time and/ or Loss and Expense

All standard forms of construction contract allow for an extension of time in the event of certain delaying events, and for loss and expense against certain matters. The JCT form contains a comprehensive list of events that allow an extension of time, whereas a bespoke form may contain significantly less.

6. Condition Precedent

A condition precedent is a clause that makes the rights under a contract clause pre-requisite on the fulfilment of a prior obligation. Understand the obligations that arise, as a failure to comply could lead to your contractual rights being diminished or lost altogether.

7. Acceleration Omission and Supplementation

Bespoke clauses allowing the employer to alter the scope of the works and programme to suit their own requirements are very unfavourable and if identified, consider the acceptance of such commercial risk.

8. Termination Provisions

Review termination provisions and understand what rights and remedies they provide the parties.

9. Conclusivity Provisions

A conclusively clause is designed to provide finality and certainty, and to prevent disputes from being prolonged for an extended period. Consideration should be given to any conclusivity provision that provides a very short time to challenge the certificate or decision.

10. The Particulars

It is important to check that the particulars of the contract are accurate as basic errors, vagueness, or ambiguity can often creep into the contract and lead to significant issues.

DEALING WITH ONEROUS CONTRACTS

It is always best to examine a construction contract closely before it is entered into, onerous contracts may be apparent from the start of the works or when unavoidable circumstances occur such as material shortages, delays or unpredictable costs. By understanding the contract terms and provisions from the outset, disputes can often be avoided. To find out more, call or email Arbicon: 01733 233737 advice@arbicon.co.uk Full article can be viewed at www.arbicon.co.uk/blog