Stress while living with an NDA

What an NDA cannot stop

Acas lists the things the law protects whatever your agreement says. An NDA cannot stop you:

• whistleblowing, which includes raising a patient-safety concern with your employer or a regulator such as the GPhC, GMC or NMC
• reporting a crime to the police
• discussing your pay with colleagues for reasons connected with equal pay
• sharing information about a crime against you to get advice and support, if you are a victim of crime in England or Wales

The victim rule comes from section 17 of the Victims and Prisoners Act 2024. For agreements signed on or after 1 October 2025, a victim can tell the police, a qualified lawyer, a regulated professional such as a counsellor or social worker, a victim support service, and a partner, parent or child, for the purpose of getting support. The rule does not cover telling friends or posting publicly. Agreements signed before 1 October 2025 follow the older rules, although no NDA can stop you reporting a crime to the police.

Read the exceptions in your clause

Many confidentiality clauses, especially in settlement agreements, list people you may tell. A common list includes your spouse or partner, close family, medical professionals, your tax or legal adviser, and HMRC or a regulator. Read your own clause line by line. The fear is often wider than the wording. If your agreement has no exceptions, ask an adviser before you assume you must tell nobody.

Say a salaried GP signed a settlement agreement after a dispute and has stopped speaking even to their spouse. On reading the clause with an adviser, the GP finds the spouse and a doctor are both named exceptions. A short check of the wording ends months of silence.

Getting health support without breaching the agreement

Health services need to know how you feel and how your life is affected. They rarely need names, dates or the details of the dispute. Try a first sentence such as: "I am under pressure from an employment matter I cannot discuss in detail. I am sleeping badly and feel anxious most days." This opens the conversation without narrating confidential events.

• Book a GP appointment if poor sleep, low mood or anxiety lasts more than two weeks or affects your work.
• Ask any support service how the service handles confidentiality before you share sensitive details.
• Use specialist services for healthcare staff, such as NHS Practitioner Health, Pharmacist Support or BMA wellbeing services.

Our guides on sleep and night shifts and fear of seeking help may also help. If you feel unable to keep yourself safe, call 999. In England, call NHS 111 and choose the mental health option. Samaritans are free on 116 123, day or night. See urgent help.

Getting advice on the clause

Talking to a regulated lawyer about your agreement does not breach a properly drafted NDA, and settlement agreements require advice from an independent adviser before signing. Bring the full agreement, any side letters and a note of what you want to say and to whom. Ask the adviser three things: who the clause names as exceptions, what counts as confidential information, and what the agreement says happens on a breach.

For whistleblowing questions, Protect gives free confidential advice. Union members can ask their union or defence body. Read what an NDA cannot stop in healthcare, settlement agreements for healthcare staff and what to do under pressure to sign.

Changes not yet in force

The Employment Rights Act 2025 contains wider limits on NDAs which stop workers speaking about harassment or discrimination. These provisions are not in force at 10 October 2026. The government consulted on the detail in 2026, and commentators expect the rules to start in 2027. Until then, the rules above apply.