Government to ban ‘appalling' NDAs in cases of harassment and discrimination
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner said the Government had 'heard the calls from victims of harassment and discrimination' and was taking action to prevent people having to 'suffer in silence'.
The move follows repeated calls by campaigners and Labour politicians, including former transport secretary Louise Haigh, to allow victims to speak freely about their experiences.
Zelda Perkins, left, Harvey Weinstein's former assistant, has led a campaign to change the law on non-disclosure agreements (Ian West/PA)
Recent years have seen several high-profile cases of NDAs being used to silence victims of sexual harassment or bullying, including that of jailed former Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, whose accusers had to breach such agreements to come forward.
And, last month, the Commons Women and Equalities Committee called on the Government to ban NDAs to tackle misogyny in the music industry.
Zelda Perkins, Weinstein's former assistant and founder of the campaign group Can't Buy My Silence UK, said the move was 'a huge milestone'.
She said: 'For years, we've heard empty promises from governments whilst victims have continued to be silenced, to see this Government accept the need for nationwide legal change shows that they have listened and understood the abuse of power taking place.
'Above all though, this victory belongs to people who broke their NDAs, who risked everything to speak the truth when they were told they couldn't. Without their courage, none of this would be happening.'
Ms Haigh, who has raised the issue several times in Parliament, said the decision was 'an incredible victory for victims and campaigners' after years of 'tireless campaigning'.
She said: 'This victory belongs to them. Organisations like Can't Buy My Silence, led by the indefatigable Zelda Perkins, have exposed the harm caused by this toxic practice.
'Today's announcement will mean that bad employers can no longer hide behind legal practices that cover up their wrongdoing and prevent victims from getting justice.'
Ministers had previously indicated they were considering a ban on NDAs in cases of harassment and discrimination, while employment minister Justin Madders also called for a 'cultural shift in employers' earlier this year.
Announcing the amendments, Mr Madders said: 'The misuse of NDAs to silence victims of harassment or discrimination is an appalling practice that this Government has been determined to end.
'These amendments will give millions of workers confidence that inappropriate behaviour in the workplace will be dealt with, not hidden, allowing them to get on with building a prosperous and successful career.'
Peers will debate the amendments when the Employment Rights Bill returns to the Lords on July 14 and, if passed, will need to be approved by MPs as well.
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Peter Mandelson: ‘There's a kernel of truth in everything Trump says'
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an hour ago
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Second World War civic kitchens could fix our sick nation
My hero will be raising a toast from beyond the grave. Fred Marquis, ennobled as Lord Woolton in June 1939 so he could join the cabinet via a seat in the House of Lords, was made Minister of Food by Neville Chamberlain in April 1940. Having efficiently run a newly formed Ministry of Supply since September 1939, as director general of equipment and stores, the prime minister felt that having clothed the British army, he might make a good fist of feeding it, the British nation and her empirical dependents. He is my hero because having heard of that culinary misery, the Woolton pie, and discovering that no one had ever written a book about the man who leant his name to it, I took on the task. It was a showstopping untold story of the battle on the home front and over the course of many months, I got to know Fred rather well. I discovered unpublished diaries, prized open his wife's locked journal that had never been read and discovered a treasure-trove of newspaper cuttings kept diligently by his proud secretaries. Woolton cared little for what other politicians thought of him, cared a great deal about publicity and marketing, managed the ration and food supply like a zealous retailer (he had been the boss of the country's largest department store chain, Lewis's, for several decades) and proudly presided over a nation that was, at the end of the war, healthier than it had ever been. And his thoughts on how to preserve the health of the nation and alleviate poverty could, today, come straight out of the mouth of Jamie Oliver. His campaigning zeal entirely matches that of Henry Dimbleby, the latter forever imploring government to implement his School Food Plan. 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This week, Nourish Scotland announced the impending opening of two taxpayer-funded eateries in Nottingham and Dundee where, in an attempt to combat food poverty and malnutrition, cheap and nutritious food will be offered. Anna Chworow, the deputy director of the study, working with the University of Sussex, says: 'The project team hopes that the local authorities and the national governments, at the UK and devolved level, would be interested in continuing the two sites after the pilot is over and in rolling them out more widely.' How wonderful that would be for us and for the memory of Woolton. His passion project was one for which he lobbied hard with Prime Minister Winston Churchill. Churchill gave him the go-ahead but with one proviso, that Woolton abandon his plan to call them Communal Feeding Centres. 'It is an odious expression suggestive of Communism and the workhouse,' he wrote. 'I suggest you call them British Restaurants. 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'The more popular they are, the more viable they become,' says Chworow. 'The model is for the funding to be given to the operator of the restaurant.' The sticking point being that the funding comes from local authorities, which rely on national government. But such is the ultimate cost to government of poor health and poverty (obesity costs more than terrorism) this may be an innovation they can't ignore. I hope they don't – and I would challenge the fast-food giants to contribute. These are not places to dine in every day; McDonald's, Nando's, KFC and Domino's Pizza will still get the lion's share of people's spend, but they ought to club together in the name of tackling poverty. Such were the daily dilemmas of Lord Woolton in World War Two that I called my book on him Eggs or Anarchy. Our poverty and obesity crisis posits similar precarious options. The good egg of a sensible restaurant is a better choice than the chaos that will otherwise come.
Telegraph
an hour ago
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Labour to spend millions on electric car handouts
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