Let's Get Loud: Breaking NDAs
Change The Chat invites 100 women who would like to be released
from their workplace non-disclosure agreement (NDA) to join our campaign,
Let's Get Loud.
Support for you
You will receive support to decide whether you would like to contact the organisation directly or through a lawyer, and letter templates will be provided.
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You will have access to the Let's Get Loud Speakeasy during this time, an online support group for women in a similar position, and you will be asked to share the outcome of the response you receive with Change The Chat.
Data gathering
Change The Chat will anonymously track the outcomes of 100 women, comparing a variety of data points, such as sector, size of organisation, reason for NDA and compare the success rate for those who successfully receive a break in their NDA and those who don't.
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We are going to expose the size of the problem across Scotland.
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Campaigning
Anonymised data will be used to inform further campaign work. You can leave the project at any time or take a pause.
Your data will be handled sensitively and in accordance with the law, your information will be anonymised unless you say otherwise and there will be regular reminders to update your preferences.
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More information will be provided in writing after our initial conversation.
Why might someone want to break their NDA? ​
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Non-disclosure agreements often come off the back of traumatic events in the workplace. Women are bullied, manipulated, harassed, assaulted, raped, discriminated against because they are mothers, discriminated against because they MIGHT one day decide to try to become a mother, ignored and belittled.
Women are also less likely to be heard if they whistleblow, less likely to be able to afford legal advice and are more likely to suffer long term mental health, physical health, financial and professional impacts as a result of speaking up.
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Restrictive deadlines - imposed either by the law, the employer or both - ignore the fact that women often find it difficult to represent their best interests (either to their employer or their lawyer) so soon after experiencing wrongdoing. Employees are often coerced into signing NDAs that they wouldn't agree to under other circumstances, and live to regret it. Others feel forced into signing so that they can afford to pay their bills or focus on their baby, in the case of pregnancy discrimination.
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People with an NDA aren't supposed to mention that they have one or talk about anything that happened leading up to signing the contract, but in recent years there has been a shift in culture. More people are asking: How do I get out of this? How do I get to talk about what happened?
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Why is this project only open to women?
Due to the sheer numbers of women who experience situations such as maternity discrimination, ​sexual assault, refusal of reasonable adjustments for pregnancy or menopause, this project is aimed at women and to highlight their experiences in the workplace. This is a pilot project, and may be extended at a later date.
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However if you are not a woman and you need support with considering signing an NDA or trying to be released from one, please get in touch. Nobody should be alone in this.