Tool used by those who hold all the power to muzzle employees subjected to harassment

The ban on the use of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) to silence employees subjected to harassment and abuse is a significant and long-awaited moment – one that has been talked about since the advent of the #MeToo movement.

- Haroon Siddique

Such contracts, where employers usually agree to pay an employee in return for the employee keeping information confidential, have been around for decades but entered the lexicon as a result of the appalling revelations of sexual abuse and discrimination faced by women in the workplace.

NDAs had originally been used to protect trade secrets when staff were moving jobs, but have since become synonymous with a much darker purpose.

Their use – or misuse – entered the public consciousness when, in 2017, Zelda Perkins, a former aide of the American film producer Harvey Weinstein, decided to break an NDA to expose how he had used the gagging contracts to silence harassment victims.