The latest proposed change to the Employment Rights Bill will ban employers from using non-disclosure agreements that silence workplace abuse or harassment.
Typically, both employer and employee are keen to maintain confidentiality in a settlement concerning workplace abuse or harassment, given the sensitivity of the situation. However, the proposed changes would prevent these settlement provisions from being enforceable, even if both parties are happy to mutually agree to confidentiality.
The impact of this is that fewer settlements will be entered into, due to the risk that provisions within the settlement may be unenforceable. Simultaneously, this may lead to an increase in litigation, as both parties will feel they have less to lose from litigation if they are prevented from settling the matter privately.
The change was tabled as an amendment to the Bill and is part of the government’s wider push to deliver the biggest change to workers’ rights in a generation. The change is aimed at protecting workers and stopping victims from suffering in silence or feeling pressured into signing a settlement. Final details are likely to be subject to further consultation after the Bill passes into law, before being published alongside updated regulations.
