NDAs are about to lose their power to silence you about harassment and discrimination

A new law will make certain non-disclosure agreements void if they try to stop you speaking about harassmentUnwanted behaviour related to a protected characteristic, such as your sex, race, disability, age or religion, that violates your dignity or creates an intimidating, hostile or humiliating environment... or discrimination at work. If your employer already has an NDA with you, or asks you to sign one, this changes what they can actually enforce.

What’s changing

A new provision, section 202A of the Employment Rights Act 1996The primary piece of legislation setting out employees rights in the UK, including the right not to be unfairly dismissed, the right to a written statement of employment particulars, and rights relati..., will make an NDA void if its effect is to prevent someone reporting or talking about harassment or discrimination they’ve experienced or witnessed at work. This applies to confidentiality clauses in settlement agreements and other NDAs, not just to standalone “gagging” contracts.

The consultationA process your employer is required to carry out before making significant decisions that affect you, most commonly redundancy. It must be genuine, meaning your employer must listen and consider what ... on the detailed rules closed on 8 July 2026. Ministers are targeting 2027 for the provision to take effect, but haven’t confirmed an exact commencement date.

The “excepted agreement” carve-out

The law isn’t a blanket ban on all confidentiality terms. An NDA can still be enforced if it qualifies as an “excepted agreement”, meaning it meets a set of protective conditions:

• You received independent legal advice on the agreement before signing, covering its terms, effect, and legal limitations, from a named adviser with indemnity insurance.
• You had a cooling-off period to reconsider before it became binding. The government’s consultation proposes 14 days, though it is also considering a shorter period.
• You were given a written copy of the agreement.
• The agreement isn’t retrospective. It can’t be used to silence you about conduct that already happened before the agreement was capable of covering it.
• You retain the right to disclose the underlying conduct to a regulator, a lawyer, your union, or a support service such as a helpline or counsellor, regardless of what the NDA says.

If an agreement doesn’t meet these conditions, the confidentiality clause covering harassment or discrimination is void, even if you’ve already signed it.

What it means for you

If you’re currently negotiating a settlement agreementA legally binding contract between you and your employer that settles any claims you might have in return for an agreed payment. You must take independent legal advice before signing one, and your emp... that includes a confidentiality clause about harassment or discrimination you’ve raised, it’s worth knowing this change is coming, even though it isn’t law yet. Once it’s in force, a clause that tries to gag you about that conduct without meeting the excepted-agreement conditions won’t be enforceable against you.

If you’ve already signed an NDA in the past covering harassment or discrimination, this change won’t automatically undo it. The rule looks forward from when it comes into force; it isn’t retrospective. But if your existing NDA gets relied on after the new law is in effect, whether it can still be enforced may depend on the same protective conditions.

Get advice before you sign anything

None of this is a reason to sign an NDA without proper advice now. If you’re offered a settlement agreement with a confidentiality clause, get independent legal advice on what it actually covers before you sign, and keep a copy of everything.

What counts as harassment in the first place is its own question. If you are unsure whether what happened to you would meet the legal test, read what counts as harassment at work before you weigh up any settlement offer.