As many as 4,000 settlements, some of which are thought to relate to allegations of bullying, discrimination and sexual misconduct, have been made with non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) attached since 2017. The figures, uncovered by the BBC, have prompted allegations that universities are deliberately using gagging orders to stop grievances becoming public. Universities UK (UUK), which represents higher education institutions, said NDAs were sometimes used to protect information about research but that they should not be exploited to silence victims. “Universities use non-disclosure agreements for many purposes, including the protection of commercially sensitive information related to university research,” UUK said. “Settlement agreements with a standard confidentiality clause are used for a range of cases including conduct, capability and redundancy.

Source: The Guardian April 17, 2019 07:33 UTC