New protection for workers bound by non-disclosure agreements

The government has announced that it is tightening rules around non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) to protect workers from being silenced by businesses.

NDAs are often used by businesses to safeguard confidential and commercially sensitive information.

However, a number of recent high profile cases have highlighted NDAs being used to prohibit employees from speaking out against misconduct such as sexual harassment and discrimination.

Business minister, Kelly Tolhurst, said: “Many businesses use non-disclosure agreements and other confidentiality agreements for legitimate business reasons.

“What is completely unacceptable is the misuse of these agreements to silence victims, and there is increasing evidence that this is becoming more widespread.

“Our new proposals will help to tackle this problem by making it clear in law that victims cannot be prevented from speaking to the police or reporting a crime and clarifying their rights.”

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