After Walliams and Brand, how could the UK government tackle NDAs?
Source: Guardian Jobs ↗
Britain’s minister for women, Bridget Phillipson, warned that the government has not done enough to curb the abusive use of non‑disclosure agreements (NDAs) after high‑profile cases involving David Walliams – who denies allegations of improper behaviour – and Russell Brand, who was convicted of rape and sexual assault. In both instances, women said they felt silenced after signing NDAs that barred them from speaking about their experiences. Phillipson’s comments came amid growing concern that such “gagging clauses” are being used to hide harassment and abuse rather than protect legitimate commercial interests.
The issue has gained urgency since the #MeToo movement and a series of scandals highlighted how NDAs can prevent victims from reporting misconduct. The UK has already introduced legislative reforms: a 2025 ban on NDAs in higher education in England stops institutions from using them in relation to sexual abuse, harassment or bullying complaints; Section 17 of the Victims and Prisoners Act 2024 renders NDAs that block victims or witnesses from contacting police or regulators unenforceable from 1 October 2025; and the Employment Rights Act 2025 voids any NDA that seeks to stop a worker from speaking about harassment, discrimination or the employer’s response. The government is consulting on extending these protections to self‑employed, agency workers and interns.
Campaigners argue that further steps are needed, such as expanding who can be approached for advice beyond the police to include mental‑health professionals, religious leaders or journalists, and learning from US states that outright prohibit NDAs covering sexual misconduct, government decision‑making or public‑funded projects. Activist Zelda Perkins, who broke an NDA to expose Harvey Weinstein, calls for a duty on employers to inform staff that NDAs do not affect whistleblowing, health‑and‑safety or police‑reporting rights, and for legal aid to be guaranteed so settlements are not tied to silence clauses.
⚡ Effects Interpreter
🌍World Economymedium impact
What this means for you
- ▶Distant markets sometimes move on rumour before the facts even settle.
- ▶The wider trading system tends to absorb shocks like this slowly.
🏙️Local Economylow impact
What this means for you
- ▶Workers in this field may face changes to pay, hours or job security.
- ▶The local labour market might feel a soft shift from this.
🏦Rates & Banksmedium impact
What this means for you
- ▶Rate-setters usually take their time digesting a story like this.
- ▶A sudden leap in mortgage costs from this alone would be out of character for lenders.
❤️Healthlow impact
What this means for you
- ▶Unsettling news can weigh on sleep and mood, so peace of mind matters.
- ▶Local health services might get busier depending on how things develop.
💷Wealthmedium impact
What this means for you
- ▶Retraining costs can be a hidden expense worth planning for early.
- ▶Redundancy or a pay cut can eat into savings and delay retirement plans.
🏠Housinglow impact
What this means for you
- ▶Any effect on bricks and mortar is likely to be slow and modest.
- ▶A slow-moving market like housing rarely reacts overnight.
📊 Country financial snapshot
United Kingdom
Source: IMF World Economic Outlook; each figure shows its year, and current-year values are IMF estimates. Policy rates and sovereign credit ratings are from the News Effects country dataset and show their own as-of date. Not investment advice.
🌍 Effects for your country
The U.S.'s central bank rate currently stands at 3.75%, so a global rates move like this could feed through to local borrowing costs. The U.S.'s economy is growing at 2.3% with inflation at 3.6%, the backdrop this story's effects play out against locally. Housing-market effects like this are usually felt most where mortgage rates track the U.S.'s own central bank rate closely. With the U.S.'s unemployment at 4.2%, personal-finance effects like this land on a labour market that is currently fairly stable. Health-system effects are harder to localise from economic indicators alone — the real impact in the U.S. depends more on local healthcare capacity than the figures above.
The UK's central bank rate currently stands at 3.75%, so a global rates move like this could feed through to local borrowing costs. The UK's economy is growing at 1.3% with inflation at 3.3%, the backdrop this story's effects play out against locally. Housing-market effects like this are usually felt most where mortgage rates track the UK's own central bank rate closely. With the UK's unemployment at 5.3%, personal-finance effects like this land on a labour market that is currently fairly stable. Health-system effects are harder to localise from economic indicators alone — the real impact in the UK depends more on local healthcare capacity than the figures above.
France's central bank rate currently stands at 2%, so a global rates move like this could feed through to local borrowing costs. France's economy is growing at 0.4% with inflation at 2.4%, the backdrop this story's effects play out against locally. Housing-market effects like this are usually felt most where mortgage rates track France's own central bank rate closely. With France's unemployment at 8.4%, personal-finance effects like this land on a labour market that is already under strain. Health-system effects are harder to localise from economic indicators alone — the real impact in France depends more on local healthcare capacity than the figures above.
Romania's central bank rate currently stands at 6.5%, so a global rates move like this could feed through to local borrowing costs. Romania's economy is growing at -0.5% with inflation at 8.2%, the backdrop this story's effects play out against locally. Housing-market effects like this are usually felt most where mortgage rates track Romania's own central bank rate closely. With Romania's unemployment at 6.5%, personal-finance effects like this land on a labour market that is currently fairly stable. Health-system effects are harder to localise from economic indicators alone — the real impact in Romania depends more on local healthcare capacity than the figures above.
The UAE's central bank rate currently stands at 3.65%, so a global rates move like this could feed through to local borrowing costs. The UAE's economy is growing at -3.9% with inflation at 4.5%, the backdrop this story's effects play out against locally. Housing-market effects like this are usually felt most where mortgage rates track the UAE's own central bank rate closely. Health-system effects are harder to localise from economic indicators alone — the real impact in the UAE depends more on local healthcare capacity than the figures above.