Suzanne McKie KC quoted by BloombergQuint on new NDA guidance

Suzanne McKie QC, Founder and Managing Director of Farore Law, has been quoted by BloombergQuint regarding new ACAS Guidance on the use of non-disclosure agreements (“NDAs”).

The article reports that the new guidance came after Zelda Perkins (a former assistant in the London office of Harvey Weinstein) broke her NDA more than two years ago to speak out about alleged sexual harassment by the Hollywood producer. Her settlement agreement stated that she could not “speak to [her] family, [her] friends, a doctor, a therapist,” or even talk to lawyers outside the case about whether the deal was legal. Suzanne notes that notifying ACAS is a critical first step for employment tribunal claimants in the UK, making it more likely that a company will abide by the Guidance.

Suzanne has also made further comment on the Guidance, available here. Amongst other things, Suzanne is of the view that it arguably requires clarification on the right to report to regulators rather than relying on a simple whistleblowing exclusion, and that the need to give claimants time to consider an NDA is interesting in light of “late-night” mediations; whether an employer wants one is perhaps now to be managed ahead of any mediation rather than on the day.

Source: BloombergQuint