‘Depression clause must remain in bill’

People with depression will fall though the safety net meant to be
offered by the Disability Discrimination Bill unless an amendment
to it passed earlier this month is retained, campaigners warned
this week.

The amendment, which was passed in the bill’s report stage in the
House of Lords, gives people with depression greater protection
against discrimination under the Disability Discrimination Act
1995.

Richard Brook, chief executive of mental health charity Mind, said
that the bill as it was first published would have meant that
people who had suffered depression in the past would continue to be
excluded from the act unless their condition lasted more than 12
months.

The amendment means that people with a history of depression should
always be treated as if it was likely to recur, providing they had
had a previous episode of debilitating depression for six months or
more within the past five years.

Paul Farmer, director of public affairs at mental health charity
Rethink, said that the newly termed bill would send out a much
clearer message to employers who were confused about where to draw
the line on disability.