Charities must be on the “front foot” in ending misuse of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) in staff contracts, a prominent campaigner has said, after recent law changes.
Zelda Perkins, who was the first woman to break an NDA about convicted sex offender Harvey Weinstein, told the audience at the Bates Wells Employment Conference in London yesterday that she had met a large number of charity employees who had been made to sign NDAs.
In December, the Employment Rights Act 2025 received royal assent and will restrict use of NDAs by employers to “silence employees subjected to harassment and abuse”.
The government also announced an amendment to its victims and courts bill, currently passing through parliament, in October to clampdown on misuse of NDAs as “gagging orders” to conceal crime.
Following these changes, Perkins said the charity sector has to be on the front foot in ending NDAs’ misuse.
“Your reputation is entirely about trust with the public, with volunteers, with donors, so it's even more important that you have true transparency,” she said.
“I think people expect film moguls and big finance [...] may be trying to hide misconduct, but for the charity sector, you have to be more impeccable than everybody else.
“So I think it's incredibly important that you know, you see this [amendment] as an opportunity right now to get on the front foot and to lead.”
In April last year, former MP Louise Haigh used parliamentary privilege to raise the case of three employees of an unnamed mental health charity who had allegedly been made to sign NDAs after being discriminated against.
The former chief executive of Jewish Women’s Aid (JWA) Alison Rosen, who left the role after just one month, said in 2023 she was asked to sign an NDA.
