Government has launched a consultation on new regulations to prevent employees from using non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) to conceal workplace harassment.
Announced on Wednesday (15th April), the proposals would form part of a wider effort to improve protections for workers who report wrongdoing. The government is also encouraging members of the public to contribute their views as part of the consultation process.
The move follows research from the Young Women’s Trust, which found one in four young women would be reluctant to report sexual harassment at work for fear of losing their job.
Ministers said further consultation on whistleblowing protections is planned for the summer, to ensure the legal framework is fit for purpose.
Under existing plans, the Employment Rights Act 2025 is expected to make confidentiality clauses void if they stop workers speaking about harassment or discrimination. The measure is due to come into force in October 2026.
Georgina Calvert-Lee, a barrister at Bellevue Law, warned the proposed exceptions could weaken the ban.
‘The Employment Rights Act 2025 includes a provision rendering void any confidentiality or non-disclosure clauses (‘NDAs’) in agreements between an employer and a worker which purports to stop the worker disclosing information about harassment or discrimination in their workplace or the employer’s response to it,’ she said.
‘In the meantime, the government has…opened a consultation on whether this prohibition should also apply to other individuals who are not ‘workers’, for example, volunteers or job applicants.
‘Importantly, it also asks how this provision will be enforced in practice, including whether any NDAs should be permitted as an exception to the general prohibition.’
Calvert-Lee added: ‘This latter question has to be approached with care. The government has suggested that NDAs should be permitted where requested by the worker after they have received independent legal advice, paid for by the employer. This risks creating an exception that engulfs the rule.
‘Given the obvious imbalance of power between an employer and a worker, there would be little to stop an employer pressuring a worker to ‘request’ an NDA, after taking advice from the lawyer the employer has paid for (and sometimes found).’
However, the government reassured the consultation aims to strengthen protections for workers while maintaining a fair legal framework for employers.
Image: Kevin Grieve/UnSplash
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