London: The UK government has announced a landmark amendment to the Employment Rights Bill that will ban the use of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) by employers to silence victims of workplace sexual misconduct or discrimination.
Once the bill becomes law, expected later this year, any confidentiality clauses aiming to prevent workers from speaking out about such allegations will be rendered legally void.
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner stated that it was “time we stamped this practice out,” highlighting the government’s stance against the misuse of NDAs to conceal wrongdoing in the workplace.
A short explanation on what our new measures on protecting victims of harassment and discrimination at work mean- no longer will they be forced to suffer in silence- victims will be able to call out unacceptable behaviour in the workplace pic.twitter.com/7qtop97ltJ
— Justin Madders (@justinmadders) July 8, 2025
NDAs, originally intended to protect intellectual property or other sensitive business information, have increasingly been misused to suppress reports of criminal behavior.
The misuse of NDAs came into the spotlight when Zelda Perkins, former assistant to Harvey Weinstein, the now-convicted Hollywood sex offender, broke her agreement to accuse him publicly of abuse. Since then, Perkins has become a prominent advocate for change, launching the campaign group Can’t Buy My Silence UK.
Perkins, who began pushing for legislative reform over seven years ago, welcomed the amendment as a ‘huge milestone,’ stating that it showed the government had “listened and understood the abuse of power taking place.”
The real harm of NDAs lies in the legal protection they give to abusers, rather than victims. Although many such agreements may not be enforceable in court, victims often don’t know their rights and fear the legal consequences of speaking out, Perkins added.
The conversation around NDA abuse intensified further following posthumous allegations that Mohamed Al Fayed, the former owner of Harrods, had used confidentiality clauses to silence women accusing him of rape and abuse.
This legislative change marks a significant step in the UK’s efforts to create safer, more transparent workplaces and to protect the rights of victims against institutional misuse of legal agreements.
Employment Rights Minister Justin Madders condemned the ‘misuse of NDAs to silence victims’ as ‘an appalling practice, and also added that. “These amendments will give millions of workers confidence that inappropriate behaviour in the workplace will be dealt with, not hidden, allowing them to get on with building a prosperous and successful career.”
The proposed changes will be debated in the House of Lords on 14 July, and if passed, must also receive approval from the House of Commons to become law.
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