Lawyers warn UK NDA ban may reduce misconduct settlement payouts
The provision would void existing NDAs used by businesses to silence employees who were subject to sexual harassment or discrimination.
A landmark ban on the use of non-disclosure agreements in workplace misconduct cases - a longstanding practice of financial firms - may make it harder for victims to win compensation and discourage some from speaking up, lawyers say.
Under reforms to workers' rights laws by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's government due to come into effect later in 2025 , any confidentiality agreements that seek to silence employees who say they faced harassment and discrimination would be null and void.
But lawyers say the ban risks unintended consequences: employers are less motivated to settle discrimination cases without confidentiality, leading to greater backlogs for the employee tribunal system and prolonged legal processes for victims seeking closure.
This could mean that fewer victims come forward to detail their experiences, according to Ms Caroline Walker, managing director at Cavendish Employment Law.
'Tribunal claims are not for the faint-hearted,' she said, referring to the courts where workers and employers head to fight their disputes.
'They are time consuming, costly and cross-examination over sensitive discrimination or harassment incidents can be brutal.'
There's a risk too that companies try to bury victims in a legal quagmire, she said, with companies more determined to defend their reputation in court in the absence of a confidentiality agreement.
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In the case of fewer settlements, lengthier legal processes could also pile pressure on an already overwhelmed UK employee tribunal system, Ms Walker said.
The backlog had reached almost 50,000 cases by the end of 2024 , an increase of 28 per cent compared with a year earlier.
'This could result in employees having to commit to litigation in difficult circumstances, when they may otherwise have received a settlement, allowing them to move on more quickly,' Ms Bethan Jones, an employment lawyer at Spencer West, said.
The use of NDAs for cases involving allegations of workplace abuse is widespread; 22 per cent of respondents to a 2024 survey by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development said their company used them when dealing with allegations of sexual harassment.
The ban marks a shift in policy for Britain after the previous Conservative government rejected calls in 2024 to end their use and comes after a series of high-profile sexual harassment scandals in recent years, including allegations against hedge fund manager, Crispin Odey, who has denied the allegations.
'There is commercial and reputational value to the employer in settling with confidentiality irrespective of the merit or otherwise of the allegation,' Mr Jason Braier, a trial lawyer specialising in employment, said in a LinkedIn post.
'The government amendment will disincentivise employers from settling many claims they think they can defend.'
But proponents of the ban say the risks are unfounded and note that the new law will reverse the power dynamics, with victims, not companies, able to request confidentiality.
'The whole thing with NDAs is that they are a piece of power, and when you are an employee the power disparity is so huge,' said Ms Zelda Perkins, the whisteblower at the heart of the Weinstein scandal.
'People I've been fighting against baulk at that word power but really it's about equality and leveling the playing field.'
And Ms Georgina Calvert-Lee, at Bellevue Law, said the ban simply aligns the UK with other countries where legislation has already changed, including Ireland and several US states.
The experience there suggests that a ban has been effective; US research in 2019 showed that, after the introduction of the bans, filings for sexual harassment increased and the settlement rate for those cases rose by nearly 10 per cent.
A former employee at Citigroup Inc. who asked not to be named because they signed an NDA after they sued the bank told Bloomberg that victims are often pressured to sign confidentiality agreements by their bosses and hopes this could mark a positive change.
They said that City of London firms frequently abuse NDAs and use them to perpetuate toxic corporate cultures. A Citi spokesperson declined to comment.
Currently, NDAs can often have a far-reaching impact, with some requiring that victims are unable to speak to anyone, even medical professionals, about their experience.
Those who sign such documents also often don't receive legal guidance and are unaware that they can still pursue a criminal case through the police. The reforms would change that.
'You can use confidentiality when it's being used ethically and not abusively,' said Ms Perkins.
'This is really taking the ability to abuse that tool out of the hands of employers.' BLOOMBERG
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Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Experts call for legal agility to tackle influx of drug-laced vapes in Singapore
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Current laws need to keep up with the technology used to deliver synthetic drugs, said one expert. SINGAPORE – Medical experts have called for legal agility to tackle vaping, which they say has evolved into a harmful and dangerous scourge with more drug-laced e-vaporisers detected. Their comments come in the wake of an announcement on July 12 by the Government, which signalled the possibility of tougher enforcement laws to tackle vaping amid a spike in seizures of e-vaporisers laced with the anaesthetic etomidate. Mr Yip Hon Weng, MP for Yio Chu Kang SMC, who agreed that enforcement laws need to be enhanced, noted that Singapore already has some of the world's toughest drug laws. 'But as the landscape evolves, so must our legal tools. 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Professor Teo Yik-Ying, dean of the NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, said current laws need to also keep up with the technology used to deliver synthetic drugs. 'Our narcotics laws need to be updated to capture some of these new changes in technology, where the delivery system now is using e-cigarettes and vapes,' he said. 'So, effectively, if I am a police officer and I catch someone with a vape, and I detect that the vape cartridge is actually a Kpod... the person is not just caught for vaping, but also caught for possession of narcotics. 'Suddenly... you will realise that the penalty increases so significantly that people now have a fear of just taking Kpods.' Although vaping has been banned in Singapore since 2018, the Health Sciences Authority still seized more than $41 million worth of e-vaporisers and their related components between January 2024 and March 2025. This is a significant spike from the $95,460 worth of seizures across 2019. In the first nine months of 2024, about 9,680 people were caught using or possessing vapes. This is more than the 7,838 people caught in the whole of 2023. Assistant Professor Yvette van der Eijk from the NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health said that what has encouraged the spread is the marketing of vaping products from other countries. 'If an influencer from, say, Indonesia promotes vaping products, that content can still reach young Singaporeans. 'Also, for a policy to be effective, it must be properly enforced, and people must be aware of its rationale so that they accept the policy. Stronger enforcement in the community and more education would be helpful,' said Prof van der Eijk. Starting young While some have argued for regulating vaping rather than an outright ban, recent studies in Britain have shown that regulations do little to limit access to e-vaporisers, including those laced with drugs. In Britain, vaping is legal for those above the age of 18, although disposable vapes have been banned across all age groups since June 1, 2025, to address environmental concerns and to protect young people from nicotine addiction. Professor Christopher Pudney from the University of Bath in Britain said his research showed that vapers there start young, between the ages of 13 and 16. 'Around the middle of 2023, we started to see a lot of media reports in the UK of children collapsing in schools, associated with vaping,' Prof Pudney told ST. 'So, we just tracked those media reports. And it got to the point where there was almost one report every week of a child collapsing in school, which is obviously insane.' His studies also showed that schoolchildren may be unknowingly smoking vapes spiked with synthetic cannabis, also known as Spice. The researchers in his team found that out of 596 vapes confiscated across 38 schools in England, one in six contained Spice. Prof Pudney, a biotechnology expert, said tests his team conducted have also picked up traces of heroin, MDMA (commonly found in Ecstasy) and ketamine in seized vaporisers. He used the world's first portable device, which is able to detect synthetic drugs in vapes in 30 seconds, to trace the chemicals. Despite these advancements, Prof Pudney said that when a drug in e-vaporisers is detected by the authorities there and made illegal, organised crime groups would subtly change the drug composition and flood the market with the new product. Mr Yip said he is aware that CNB and the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) are already building up rapid-testing and toxicology capabilities to detect novel substances in vape liquids. Etomidate is known to cause a type of muscle spasm called myoclonus, which patients may describe as tremors, said Dr Clare Anne Fong, associate consultant at the Division of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine at National University Hospital and Alexandra Hospital. 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'This is more than just a policy challenge – it is a growing threat in schools, community and online spaces. 'The recent case involving teenagers reportedly behaving erratically after inhaling drug-laced Kpods outside a Punggol mall is not just worrying – it is a red flag. 'These devices are not only illegal, but they are also dangerous and designed to avoid detection,' he added.
Straits Times
an hour ago
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At least 15 killed in sectarian clashes in Syria's Sweida – witnesses, medics
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Straits Times
2 hours ago
- Straits Times
Art by Pathlight students to be displayed along Singapore River
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox (From left) Pathlight School students Marcus Goh, Nurdaanya Mohamed Hafiz, and Brennan Tay with their artwork. SINGAPORE – A construction hoarding in Kim Seng Linear Park – which runs alongside the Singapore River – will soon be turned into a community art canvas, showcasing 30 works by neurodivergent students from Pathlight School. The works, inspired by the Singapore River, represent the students' interpretations of the river's history, community and culture. They will be exhibited on the hoarding for three years throughout the construction of the River Green development, a 524-unit riverfront condominium consisting of a single 36-storey tower. The project is a collaboration between real estate developer Wing Tai Group and Pathlight School. Measuring 200m long and 4.8m high, the transformed hoarding will be ready by July 17. The 30 works to be displayed on the hoarding were selected from among 69 entries in an art competition organised by Pathlight School and Wing Tai Group that was open to secondary and vocational track Pathlight students. The competition was judged by Ms Cecilia Chow, senior manager of programmes at Singapore Art Museum; Dr Joseph Lim, associate professor at NUS School of Architecture; and Mr Edmund Cheng, deputy chairman of Wing Tai Holdings. An awards ceremony to recognise the students whose works were chosen for the display was held at Pathlight School Ang Mo Kio Campus 1 on July 11. Ms Stacey Ow Yeong, head of marketing at Wing Tai Property Management, said the developer saw an opportunity to convert the hoarding for its River Green development in Kim Seng Linear Park into an art canvas because it is highly visible, and many people pass by the area. The current hoarding near the Singapore River where artworks by Pathlight School students will be displayed. PHOTO: WING TAI GROUP 'This collaboration with Pathlight School shines a light on the unique perspectives and artistic talents of neurodivergent individuals,' she added. Marcus Goh, 16, created two artworks which placed within the top 10 in the art competition. His acrylic painting, Flowing Through History, was inspired by the things that he sees around the Singapore River, such as the boats, the buildings and the people passing by. 'I feel very happy and proud,' said the Secondary 1 student, when asked how he feels about having his art displayed. His second winning artwork, A Spectrum Of Colours, uses colourful buildings to reflect the vibrancy of Singapore's culture, where different ethnicities and communities live together. An acrylic painting by student Marcus Goh was inspired by the things he sees around the Singapore River, like the boats, the buildings, and the people. PHOTO: GOH WEI-YU MARCUS Sec 2 student Nurdaanya Mohamed Hafiz, 14, depicted the teeming quays of the Singapore River in her pen and watercolour work, A Playful Night At The Singapore River. 'As a little history buff myself, I learnt that the Singapore River holds cultural and historical significance to Singapore, especially in our early days,' she said. Another inspiration for her was seeing youth her age or younger, like her younger brothers, disconnect from their gadgets so they can enjoy outdoor activities. Student Nurdaanya Mohamed Hafiz's pen and watercolour work. One inspiration for her was seeing young people disconnect from their gadgets so they can enjoy outdoor activities. PHOTO: NURDAANYA BINTE MOHAMED HAFIZ 'I wanted to bring out that sense of nostalgia to our older and current generations by combining two significant parts of their childhood and Singapore's history into one frame,' the schoolgirl reflected. Community & Wellness Along Singapore River, an entry by Year 8 vocational student Brennan Tay, 20, which placed within the top 30, captures the joy of wellness and community in a lively green park by the river. 'I visited Kim Seng Park and I saw a group of children running together, and I liked what I saw because I am also in a running club CCA in school,' he said. 'I like to share the joy of wellness and connecting with nature through my artwork.' Student Brennan Tay's artwork capturing the joy of wellness and community in a lively green park by the river. PHOTO: TAY HONG YAO BRENNAN At Pathlight School, art education classes are tailored to the diverse profiles, strengths and learning needs of students. Ms Nurhilda Anuar, subject head of the art department at Pathlight School, said: 'In my art lessons, I will study each student profile in order to determine the suitable approach for each student. For instance, autism-friendly strategies such as visual supports and simplified work systems may apply for a student who requires explicit structure to understand and execute the art task.' Senior principal of Pathlight School, Ms Linda Kho, hopes the public will recognise the students' talents and abilities through the artworks, and be more open to embracing neurodivergent people. 'It's not about being different or focusing on their deficit. It's about their talents and their voice, and that there's a place for them to contribute to society,' she said.
