Non-disclosure agreements in sex harassment cases to be banned

Roderic O'Gorman's plan will see amendments made to the Equality Employment Act, which will prevent an employer from entering into an NDA with an employee, in cases where the worker has made allegations of discrimination, harassment or sexual harassment. Picture: Sasko Lazarov /RollingNews.ie

A ban on non-disclosure agreements in cases of sexual harassment is set to be introduced, with Cabinet to discuss the proposal on Wednesday.

Equality Minister Roderic O’Gorman will bring forward the heads of the bill to Cabinet later this week to allow for the ban to be implemented.

Mr O’Gorman’s plan will see amendments made to the Equality Employment Act, which will prevent an employer from entering into an NDA with an employee, in cases where the worker has made allegations of discrimination, harassment or sexual harassment.

The proposed ban follows on from calls made by Independent Senator Lynn Ruane, who introduced a private members bill into the Seanad in 2021 on the issue.

Ms Ruane’s bill passed through the Seanad last October, with Mr O’Gorman saying during the debate that “no one should ever feel forced or obligated to hide their experiences”.

“No one should ever be put under pressure to conceal harassment or discrimination to protect the reputation of an individual, institution or company,” he added.

It is understood that Mr O’Gorman intends to introduce the bill in the next Dáil session and pass it before the autumn term concludes.

A source said that Mr O’Gorman’s intention is to address existing power imbalances between employers and employees, as NDAs can be used to conceal discriminatory behaviour.

Ireland would be one of the first countries in the world to ban NDAs nationally in the case of sexual harassment, if the bill passes through the Oireachtas.

Research carried out by the Department of Equality in 2022 found that NDAs are commonly used throughout Ireland in different contexts, but that there are “significant research and data gaps” on their use and prevalence for sexual harassment in the State.

“The inherent secrecy of these contracts presents challenges in rectifying this,” the report adds.

However, the report concludes that a key recommendation for employers is that “prevention is key” and that HR practices must encourage reporting of sexual harassment and discrimination. It also recommends that a workplace culture must not foster either harassment or discrimination.