Sexism in the City | Government rejects plea to ban workplace harassment NDAs

Over 430,000 mothers have been forced to sign non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) following workplace discrimination, harassment, or bullying in the workplace, according to a damning report from the charity Pregnant then Screwed.

The study, titled Sexism and the City, found that 435,293 working mothers had been silenced following mistreatment in the workplace and comes as campaigners protested against the confidentiality agreements.

One mother who signed an NDA following maternity discrimination commented: “I was asked to sign an NDA to cover maternity discrimination and a second time to cover harassment. The process of negotiating the NDA made me feel suicidal. The NDA was presented to me at the end of a gruelling process that had to end otherwise I would have had to sell my home. The lasting impact of the NDA was ruinous.”

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However, HM Treasury has said that the UK government will not commit to a legislative ban on these types of confidentiality agreements, rejecting calls from campaigners to bring an end to the “abusive use” of NDAs in silencing workplace harassment victims.