Lawyer: Staff must be able to speak out
Controversial nondisclosure agreements should never be used to prevent staff members revealing alleged failures in their organisation, according to a leading employment lawyer.
Hayley Johnson, employment lawyer at Slater and Gordon solicitors in Edinburgh, said: “A non-disclosure agreement, or ‘gagging clause’ as they are also known, is a confidentiality clause, usually added within a contract.
“A common example is a clause in a settlement agreement between an employer and an employee.
“They often cover sensitive commercial information, preventing staff using trade secrets after they leave, but can also cover the circumstances leading up to a termination of employment, including details of any compensation payment and the terms of the settlement agreement.
“These work hand-inhand to protect both the employer and the employee.
“However, issues arise when employees are forced into signing NDAs in a bid to prevent them speaking out about certain conduct or illegal behaviour, essentially gagging them from seeking help from other services, like the police, reporting to their regulator or even speaking about events to their loved ones.
“They have come under the spotlight more recently as big names have been accused of using them to cover up sexual harassment or abuse, which has highlighted the need for the government to look closely at robustly regulating their use.
“Employers should implement a system whereby any allegations are routinely investigated and anonymously recorded so there is less risk of harassment of all kinds being swept under the carpet.”