MPs call for ban on gagging orders for sexual harassment allegations

The government has been urged to ban controversial gagging orders used to silence victims of sexual harassment and discrimination.

An inquiry set up in the wake of allegations against Sir Philip Green found that some employers “routinely” use non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) to cover up allegations of sexual misconduct.

Sir Philip denied that his alleged behaviour was criminal or amounted to gross misconduct.

The House of Commons Women and Equalities Committee said the current law was being abused by some employers and that some cases were not being investigated at all.

Such practices are “completely unacceptable”, the committee said. Its report warned of a “cover-up culture” that may prevent victims from coming forward for fear that they may not be taken seriously.

The MPs were “struck by the fear, anger and raw emotion that witnesses expressed and still felt about their experience years—even decades—after signing an NDA”.

Parliamentarians are calling on the government to “reset the parameters” within which NDAs can be used, and to fix the “failure” of the employment tribunal system to provide employees with “a meaningful route of legal redress”.

MPs said they received “shocking evidence” of the impact of NDAs on the lives of “ordinary people”.

The report added: “Some suffer emotional and psychological damage as a result of their experiences, which can affect their ability to work again or to move on.

“Some also suffer financially as a result of losing their job and bringing a case against their employer.”

The committee’s chairwoman, Maria Miller, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Tuesday that NDAs should eventually be stopped altogether.

The Conservative MP for Basingstoke added: “We do believe right now we need the government to reset the parameters, but there should be a direction of travel towards stopping them being used all together.

“It is possible and at the moment they are being used as legally-sanctioned secrecy, particularly around discrimination cases of all different types.”

Lawyers have expressed concern at the idea of a total ban on the contracts however, as they can be beneficial to parties on both sides of a legal case when used correctly.

Fears that they may be being abused in the workplace were sparked after Topshop boss Sir Philip Green took out a legal injunction preventing the Daily Telegraph from publishing allegations of sexual harassment and racial abuse.

Five employees had signed Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs) to keep their complaints confidential after the Arcadia owner’s High Court action ended.

The Women and Equalities Committee’s report, published on Tuesday, said: “The difficulties of pursuing a case at employment tribunal, and the substantial imbalance of power between employers and employees, mean that employees can feel they have little choice but to reach a settlement that prohibits them speaking out.

“Our report shows unequivocally that in many cases signing a non-disclosure agreement is not benign.”

The committee is calling on the Government to ensure NDAs cannot be used to prevent or cover up “legitimate discussion of allegations of unlawful discrimination or harassment”, while protecting the rights of victims “to be able to make the choice to move on with their lives”.

MPs want standard, plain English to be used in settlement agreement clauses to ensure there is clarity about what information can or cannot be shared.

They also want corporate governance rules strengthened to protect employees and a requirement for named senior managers at board level to oversee anti-discrimination and harassment policies and the use of NDAs.

MPs reiterated their earlier call for a mandatory duty on employers to protect workers from harassment in the workplace and for improvements to employment tribunals’ remedies and costs regime.

A spokesperson for the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy said:  “It is unacceptable that NDAs have been used to hide workplace harassment or intimidate victims into silence.

We share the committee’s concerns, which is why we recently consulted on proposals to tighten the laws around NDAs and confidentiality clauses for workers and put an end to the unethical use of these agreements. We will be publishing our response to the consultation and the committee’s report in due course.”

Additional reporting by PA