Can't Buy My Silence UK
Welcome to our long overdue newsletter and progress update. As the work in Canada and the UK has grown so much we are now publishing two separate newsletters - we hope you enjoy!
October already?
Dear Friends, Supporters, Allies and Donors,
It’s been a hectic few months with so much happening that we haven’t had time to update you. Here are some of our biggest stories and the pretty incredible news that we have CHANGED THE LAW (well some of it).
If you would like to help us and take direct action there are links at the bottom of the page.
CBMS Pledges making legislative change
You may remember in 2022 we launched a voluntary pledge for Universities and colleges to sign agreeing to no longer use NDAs inappropriately. The pledge was backed by the Department for Education and in February this year an amendment to the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act was passed which prohibits the use of NDAs in cases of sexual misconduct, harassment, bullying and discrimination. The Bill received Royal Assent in record time this May and means millions of students and thousands of staff are now protected from abusive NDAs. This is the FIRST LAW OF ITS KIND IN THE UK prohibiting the use of NDA’s to cover up abuse.
We are now mirroring this initiative with our Business Pledge, asking businesses from all sectors across the country to sign up. This pledge was discussed in a Westminster Hall Debate on NDA’s, where unified cross party MP's demanded that the Government broaden the protections afforded to higher education to all of the economic workforce. CBMS is meeting with Kevin Hollinrake, the Under Secretary for Business and Trade, this month to discuss the department’s support.
The pledge will be officially launched in the coming months with the first signatories from each sector being leading lights in responsible business and employee relations. Please contact zelda@cantbuymysilence.com if you are interested in presenting the pledge to your employer or signing up your business if you are in a position to do so.
Regulatory change in the pipeline
Earlier this year the Legal Services Board launched a call for evidence into the conduct of legal professionals involved in creating NDAs. This came about after CBMS took part in their roundtable and conference. The LSB would like to make a Statutory Statement of Policy that would make it an offence for lawyers to draw up NDAs that concealed any form of misconduct. If this happened it would be a major success for our campaign so we will be following developments closely.
After a series of exchanges in Legal Futures between CBMS and the Bar Council, the chair of the latter, Nick Vineall KC, told Legal Futures: “The Bar Council agrees with Dr Julie Macfarlane and Zelda Perkins that the law on NDAs should be reviewed and that there is an important debate to be had about the circumstances in which NDAs may be lawfully used”. CBMS is meeting with the Bar Council in November to discuss this further.
Breaking NDA cases
Over the summer two high profile men, Crispin Odey and Sir David Adjaye were exposed as a direct result of individuals breaking their NDAs and sharing their experiences. Last year an investigation into TSSA also uncovered years of abusive behaviour after Claire Laycock bravely broke her NDA.
Last month Daisy Ayliffe broke her NDAs with Channel4/ITN, just a week before the Russell Brand revelations that had many questioning why such stories took so long to surface. In light of these recent developments the heads of ITN, CH4 and ITV have agreed to meet with CBMS. Watch this space…..
Breaking an NDA is a terrifying and often hugely risky process. The women who spoke up were met with no recriminations and the right actions were subsequently taken regarding their insights. However, we would never advise anyone to take this risk without taking legal advice. If you are considering signing an NDA or breaking an NDA, you can find support and guidance on our site and feel free to reach out to info@cantbuymysilence.com if you have any questions, however we cannot give you official legal advice.
Funding at last!
CBMS UK were incredibly honoured to be approached by two separate funding bodies this year and more incredibly were awarded funds by them both. We also received a substantial personal donation all of which has meant Can’t by My Silence can afford its first official UK team member, transforming how we work.
We would like to profoundly thank The Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust and Caryn Mandabach who have provided the campaign with significant funding so that this important work can be stepped up a gear.
As a result the amazing Caitlín Sim has come onboard as our Campaign & Communication Manager. Caitlín has direct experience in campaigning with her own not-for-profit which raised awareness of harassment on public transport and resulted in Transport for London’s poster campaign and the Railway Guardian app.
CBMS UK are also now part of the Breakthrough Accelerator 2023 program. Breakthrough support campaigns led by people with direct experience of issues to ensure their campaign has the impact intended. They will be supporting us with strategy and more as we work together to ban the misuse of NDAs.
Can’t Buy My Silence in the news:
Click here for moments of CBMS in the press recently.
Read about CBMS Canada progress »here«.
Want to help the CBMS? Here’s some small actions that go a long way:
Donate 💸
Add data to vital survey 🙋🙋♂️
Till next time, and remember don’t sign anything you don’t understand….
Zelda & team
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