Government to Ban Non-Disclosure Agreements That Silence Workplace Abuse

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17 July 2025

As part of changes to the Employment Rights Bill, employers will soon no longer be able to use non-disclosure agreements to cover up workplace misconduct.

Non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) used by employers in settlement agreements, or other agreements that seek to prevent a worker from speaking about workplace harassment, discrimination or an allegation of such, will be null and void.

The new legislation will also void NDAs that prevent workers from speaking out about an employer’s response to harassment or an allegation relating to it. 

This will give employees the ability to publicly speak about their experiences without the threat of being sued.

Historical Misuse of Non-Disclosure Agreements in the Workplace

Despite the original purpose of an NDA being to protect commercially sensitive information, evidence shows that they have been historically misused to silence those who have experienced harassment and discrimination.

According to campaign group Can’t Buy My Silence, lawyers estimate that NDAs are present in upwards of 90 per cent of civil settlements – including cases involving claims of sexual assault and abuse, sexual harassment, racial discrimination, disability discrimination, pregnancy discrimination, LGBTQ discrimination and bullying.

Statistics from Can’t Buy My Silence and data partner Speak Out Revolution show that those in lower-income and insecure employment situations are more at risk of termination with an NDA or a pre-emptive NDA at the point of hiring.

Zelda Perkins, Founder of the campaign Can’t Buy My Silence UK, said: “This is a huge milestone, for years, we’ve heard empty promises from governments whilst victims have continued to be silenced, to see this government accept the need for nationwide legal change shows that they have listened and understood the abuse of power taking place.”

‘Above all though, this victory belongs to the people who broke their NDAs, who risked everything to speak the truth when they were told they couldn’t. Without their courage, none of this would be happening.”

Zelda is the former PA to convicted sex offender Harvey Weinstein, and was the first woman to break her NDA with Weinstein.

“This is not over yet and we will continue to focus closely on this to ensure the regulations are watertight and no one can be forced into silence again. If what is promised at this stage becomes reality, then the UK will be leading the world in protecting not only workers but the integrity of the law.”

Picture: a photograph of a piece of paper with the title "N.D.A" at the top. Image Credit: Pexels

Article written by Ella Tansley | Published 17 July 2025

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