Gagging Orders

When an employee makes a claim of harassment, discrimination or sexual misconduct, employers often make an out of court settlement and payment conditional upon the employee signing a non-disclosure agreement (NDA).

The government is proposing to outlaw that. That means that employers will be far less likely to make an out of court settlement and that the employee (the victim in most cases) will lose the privacy and anonymity that they want after a gruelling experience. Victims will be less inclined to make complaints.

This unintended consequence of a ban on a NDA is exactly the sort of reason, why hastily drafted legislation like this can backfire.

July 2025
Rodney Hylton-Potts