Labour considering ban on use of NDAs

NDAs have a very useful commercial purpose, protecting sensitive business information, and also a very useful private purpose to prevent ex-staff selling information about their employers’ private lives to the press.

The extent to which this government is interfering in business and in employment law disturbs me. If you don’t want to sign a NDA, don’t take the job.

They are also used to silence whistleblowers.

I don’t have an objection to NDA’s to protect commercial and business information. However, they should not be allowed as a way to coverup wrong doing.

I would never sign one, not for work business or pleasure.

We have our privacy invaded enough on-line, why would people think their sensitive information is so well protected even with NDAs?

We need more transparency, not less.

As far as I can tell, it doesnt related to banning all NDA's at all but to stop them being used

" We are aware of concerns about the misuse of NDAs to intimidate and silence victims of crime, or other types of misconduct such as harassment, discrimination, and bullying, and are taking a fresh look at these issues to identify the right approach.”

Campaigners are pushing for the UK to follow legislative changes already made in Ireland, Canada and the US, where NDAs cannot prohibit disclosure of sexual harassment, discrimination or bullying without it being the expressed wish of the employee"

www.theguardian.com/law/2025/jan/17/labour-ban-ndas-sexual-misconduct-employers-gagging-clauses-work

Examples given in the article.

I believe a blanket ban on NDAs would be damaging to our economy. It would certainly not aid growth. There is a good case for protecting sensitive commercial information, and if that protection becomes unavailable in the UK I foresee losses of those businesses who legitimately need employees with access to sensitive information to sign a NDA.

Nobody is asking for a 'blanket ban' on NDAs, Barleyfields.

Have you read the article Wyllow linked us to?

She posted while I was typing.

Barleyfields

She posted while I was typing.

Aaah. Apologies

Maremia

They are also used to silence whistleblowers.

This.

I have to admit I hadn't thought about the use of NDAs in business (thank you, Barleyfields). I think this is due to my limited experience in this area. I am used to people being vetted before they are employed and regularly thereafter. However, this obviously doesn't always apply to the business world.

With a quick bit of research, I learned that the purposes of NDAs in business include protecting sensitive information, encouraging sharing, and preventing competitive advantage when employees change companies.

Wyllow's linked article mentions it's the misuse of NDAs that they are considering, and I get the impression that this has grown. None of us know how strong we would or could be when it comes to defending our principles. From what I know so far, I’m glad to see they are following this up, particularly concerning whistle-blowing, and workplace bullying and harassment.

One thing I would like to see is an investigation into how many times NDAs have been used in businesses and organisations—perhaps each year for the last ten years, and whether they were used at the beginning or end of a contract.

maddyone

Maremia

They are also used to silence whistleblowers.

This.

You sign up to protect confidential information - and then find out, for example, your company is causing serious pollution, or a very senior person, maybe your own boss, is committing financial fraud. Must be so scary.

In my business we have to use NDA’s.
Our clients could not operate without them.

"I would never sign one" keepingquiet

I think that, until we have walked in the shoes of those who have, we cannot know what we would do.

That’s right PoliticsNerd. I have signed NDAs. Though I would never dream of taking one employer’s business secrets to another, unfortunately the same cannot be said of everyone. How is a prospective employer to know who they can trust with confidential information when hiring someone? I would suggest those who say they would never sign an NDA are unlikely to have worked in a position where one was required.

Sago

In my business we have to use NDA’s.
Our clients could not operate without them.

I would guess these are issued and agreed at the beginning of a contract or project. It would be interesting to know of those used at the end of a contract and whether they employee receives an enhanced severance package.

I would want to know how often a council uses them. Why schools do, etc.

I have never heard of an NDA being used at the end of a contract. Stable doors and bolting horses come to mind.

I signed one when I worked for IBM, it’s a competitive business.
In my experience PoliticsNerd Councils tended to redact information not for general viewing, or to comply with GDPR, but I retired early in 2016, so it may have changed.
It’s a thin line the LP want to consider, I’ll follow with interest.

PoliticsNerd

"I would never sign one" keepingquiet

I think that, until we have walked in the shoes of those who have, we cannot know what we would do.

There are plenty of shoes I have never walked in. Maybe it comes to choice but then I am now out of the employment market and glad I never had to sign one during my working life, or indeed ask anyone to sign one.

I'm pretty sure I know what choices I am free to make thankyou.

I’m sure, keepingquiet, that you understand the importance of an employee who will be privy to confidential information signing an agreement to promise that they will not disclose that information to anyone else unless obliged to do so by a court order. If you refused to sign such an agreement the only inference would be that you would sell your employer’s business secrets, or if say you were a nanny the details of their private life, elsewhere and you simply wouldn’t get the job.

Barleyfields

I have never heard of an NDA being used at the end of a contract. Stable doors and bolting horses come to mind.

Perhaps me using the word "contract" is misleading Barleyfields. I'm thinking of those that are part of the termination of employment. I think those are the first to question.

Jaxjacky

I signed one when I worked for IBM, it’s a competitive business.
In my experience PoliticsNerd Councils tended to redact information not for general viewing, or to comply with GDPR, but I retired early in 2016, so it may have changed.
It’s a thin line the LP want to consider, I’ll follow with interest.

Obviously, at least in the first instance, no one should be asking for names, just numbers Jaxjacky.

What I an interested in is that in some organisations, NDAs may be presented to employees as a condition for receiving severance packages or as part of the settlement process after complaints of harassment or bullying. By requiring affected individuals to sign an NDA, organisations may prevent them from discussing their experiences or reporting misconduct externally, effectively covering up issues that need to be addressed.

The existence of NDAs can also create a chilling effect within a workplace. Employees may feel discouraged from reporting harassment or bullying if they believe that doing so could lead to legal repercussions or the requirement to sign an NDA that restricts their ability to speak out. This can perpetuate a culture of silence, where issues go unreported and unresolved.

I think this happens most in large organisations such as education, councils, NHS, etc., and those companies under contact to receive money from government based on complex actions to fulfil their part of the contract.

PoliticsNerd

Sago

In my business we have to use NDA’s.
Our clients could not operate without them.

I would guess these are issued and agreed at the beginning of a contract or project. It would be interesting to know of those used at the end of a contract and whether they employee receives an enhanced severance package.

I would want to know how often a council uses them. Why schools do, etc.

We have NDA’s at discussion stage.