NDAs silencing victims to be banned
Non-disclosure agreements (NDAs), often used to silence victims of workplace sexual misconduct or discrimination, are set to be banned, the government has revealed. Employers will no longer be able to use these ‘gag orders.’
An amendment to the Employment Rights Bill, expected to become law later this year, will void NDAs or any other confidentiality agreements. This measure hopes to prevent employees from speaking up about allegations of harassment or discrimination. It is “time we stamped this practice out” said Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner.
NDAs are often used cover up criminality, having been in the headlines since Zelda Perkins, former assistant to Hollywood mogul and convicted sex offender Harvey Weinstein. Perkins broke her agreement, accusing him of abuse.
The now deceased Mohamed Al Fayed, the former owner of Harrods department store, has also been accused of using NDAs to silence women that have accused him of rape and abuse.
Perkins has been campaigning for over seven years to change the law, ever since speaking out against Weinstein. Now, she runs the campaign group Can’t Buy My Silence UK, hailing the amendment as a “huge milestone” that showed the government has “listened and understood the abuse of power taking place.”
NDAs are legally binding documents protecting confidential information between two parties. They are used to protect intellectual property or commercially sensitive information. However, their use has increased over the years, being used to silence victims.
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