The Government has launched a consultation on the implementation of new restrictions on non-disclosure agreements.

Under new laws introduced by the Employment Rights Act 2025, any provision within an agreement made between an employer and worker that seeks to prevent the worker speaking about (i) ‘relevant harassment or discrimination’ or (ii) the employer’s response to the ‘relevant harassment or discrimination’ (or the making of such an allegation) is rendered void.

However, acknowledging that there may be circumstances in which a worker may want confidentiality in cases of harassment or discrimination, the legislation provides for so-called ‘excepted agreements’ – as defined by the Secretary of State in regulations – which will not be caught by the new provisions.

The consultation invites views on the proposed conditions that must be met for such ‘excepted agreements’, including:

1. A worker should receive independent advice before entering into an excepted agreement;
2. A worker should express their preference in writing to enter into an excepted agreement, following the receipt of independent legal advice;
3. An excepted agreement should include a cooling-off period of 14 calendar days after the agreement has been entered into;
4. A written copy of the excepted agreement should be provided to all parties;
5. An excepted agreement can only be entered into where it would prevent a worker speaking out about an incident (or alleged incident) of relevant harassment or discrimination which has already taken place; and
6. An excepted agreement should be time-limited.

The consultation sets out the Government’s reasoning behind these various conditions. It also invites views on proposals as to the groups or individuals to whom workers should be able to make permitted disclosures, even if they have signed an excepted agreement. These include law enforcement and regulatory bodies, lawyers, support services, as well as, potentially, prospective employers so as to explain, for example, gaps in an employment history.

The consultation (found here) closes on 8 July 2026, after which the new rules are expected to come into effect in 2027.