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opinion
NDA law reform: what can HR do to get ready?
4th November 2025
Expected changes in the law mean workplace allegations of harassment, discrimination, and criminal wrongdoing may be disclosed into the public domain. What changes can employers make to protect their brand and is now the time, more than ever, for HR to have a strong influence at board level as HR process becomes a core component of reputational management?
NDAs are commonly incorporated into settlement agreements to keep things quiet and move on. The Employment Rights Bill will change the law on NDAs – making them void insofar as they prevent disclosure of allegation of harassment and discrimination, save for very limited exceptions.
Is the quick and quiet settlement agreement going to become unattractive to employers if, in the public’s mind, settlement infers guilt, or is there still a place for a settlement with additional efforts to agree announcements that can be made to the press? This article explores how approaches to investigations, responding to complaints, and settlement might fundamentally change, once an NDA ban comes in, and what HR can do now to begin to prepare.
