United Kingdom Passes Landmark NDA Reform as Part of Employment Rights Act 2025

On July 3, 2025, the United Kingdom officially enacted the Employment Rights Act 2025, a sweeping piece of legislation aimed at modernizing worker protections across the country.

Among its most groundbreaking provisions is a long-anticipated amendment that directly targets the misuse of nondisclosure agreements (NDAs) in cases of workplace abuse, harassment, and discrimination. With this reform, the UK joins a growing global movement to end the silencing of survivors through legal coercion.

The roots of this amendment lie in years of advocacy from journalists, whistleblowers, legal experts, and most critically—survivors themselves. The campaign to ban exploitative NDAs gained traction after high-profile cases emerged in the UK and abroad, including the use of confidentiality clauses in abuse scandals across the charity sector, academia, and corporate workplaces. These clauses often prevented survivors from speaking to colleagues, regulators, police, or even therapists—creating an environment where abusers were protected and patterns of harm could flourish.

The survivor-led movement Can’t Buy My Silence, co-founded by Zelda Perkins and Dr. Julie Macfarlane, played a central role in driving public awareness and political will for reform. Perkins herself had signed an NDA in the 1990s after reporting workplace sexual harassment while working for Harvey Weinstein in London. Her decision to break that silence in 2017 became a catalyst for the UK’s reckoning with NDAs as tools of suppression.

The legislative process began when the Employment Rights Bill was introduced in the House of Commons on October 10, 2024, spearheaded by Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds. The bill contained numerous employment reforms—strengthening trade union rights, improving family leave, and expanding access to sick pay—but the inclusion of the NDA provision came after sustained pressure from across party lines.

On January 16, 2025, during the Committee Stage, Members of Parliament passed over 140 government amendments to the bill, including a version of the NDA ban shaped by survivor input. The bill cleared its Third Reading in the House of Commons on March 12, 2025, then moved to the House of Lords for further scrutiny.

Despite initial resistance from some industry groups, the amendment retained broad political support. It passed its Second Reading in the House of Lords on March 27, followed by additional debate and minor revisions during the Report Stage. The Lords passed the final version of the bill on June 13, returning it to the Commons for concurrence, where it was approved without further changes on June 26. It received Royal Assent on July 3, 2025, formally becoming law.

The new law prohibits the use of nondisclosure agreements in workplace civil settlements or employment contracts where the purpose is to silence individuals who have experienced harassment, abuse, or discrimination. Survivors still have the right to confidentiality if they wish it—but under the law, that protection must be their choice. NDAs can no longer be used to stop someone from speaking to a therapist, the police, or regulatory bodies.

This reform is set to take effect in October 2025, giving employers and institutions a three-month window to review their internal policies and remove or revise outdated NDA practices. Legal observers expect the change to affect sectors including healthcare, education, finance, entertainment, and non-profit organizations—many of which have long relied on legal silence to shield reputations.

Supporters of the bill were quick to praise the government’s action. Zelda Perkins called the amendment “a landmark moment in the fight to end institutional secrecy,” adding that “the UK has taken a bold step to show that survivors should never have to trade their voice for justice.”

The passage of this law also represents a cultural shift—one that signals to employers, institutions, and the public that transparency, safety, and survivor dignity matter more than risk management. It challenges the long-held assumption that reputational harm should outweigh personal harm, and puts power back in the hands of the people most affected.

For the rest of the world, the UK’s action offers both inspiration and pressure. Other countries, including Canada and the United States, are currently debating similar legislation. The message from Westminster is clear: silence is no longer the price of survival. Survivors have the right to be heard, and no legal agreement should ever take that away.

Read more on our legislation page.