The UK government must ensure that new rules to stop the use of non-disclosure agreements to silence the victims of harassment and abuse in the workplace apply to freelancers as well as formal employees, say MPs in the UK Parliament who have investigated misogyny in music.
According to Parliament’s Women & Equalities Committee, those new rules are key to fighting misogyny in the music business, but won’t deliver real change if they don't apply to the huge number of freelancers working in music.
In a statement, the committee notes that, in its previous ‘Misogyny In Music’ reports, it “called on ministers to act to ban NDAs in cases involving sexual misconduct, bullying or discrimination”. That ban was included in the recently passed Employment Rights Act, but only for formal employees.
The committee’s Chair, Sarah Owen MP, notes that “the misuse of NDAs is a major concern”, because they are “frequently used to silence victims of harassment and abuse” in the music industry, “often under coercive circumstances”.
It's good that the Employment Rights Act tackles this problem, but Owen continues, “it would be simply unjustifiable to offer these protections for some workers but not all - especially in industries built on the backs of freelancers”.
In its second report on ‘Misogyny In Music’ last year, the WEC Committee said that NDAs had been used in the music industry to “prevent victims of discrimination, harassment and abuse from speaking about their experiences or from pursuing a resolution via the Employment Tribunal”.
Not only that, but “women the committee spoke to described how they were coerced into signing” such NDAs “by businesses who threatened to ruin them financially or reputationally if they refused”.
The new Employment Rights Act states that “any provision in an agreement between an employer and a worker of the employer is void in so far as it purports to preclude the worker from making an allegation of, or a disclosure of information relating to, relevant harassment or discrimination”.
However, while that rule clearly applies to anyone in music that has a formal employment contract with a music company, it does not automatically apply when someone is working on a freelance basis. There are obviously a high number of freelancers in the music industry, especially when it comes to music creators.
However, the act does include another section that says the relevant government minister can introduce a regulation in Parliament to extend the NDAs protection to people working on a freelance basis. Owen wants Peter Kyle, currently Secretary Of State For Business And Trade, to ensure that now happens.
In a letter sent to Kyle last week, Owen writes, “I urge the government to take the steps necessary to ensure that freelancers will benefit from these protections”.
Owen has also written to culture secretary Lisa Nandy, partly about the NDAs point, but also urging the government to ensure that the Creative Industries Independent Standards Authority - set up to help tackle discrimination and abuse in the creative industries - has the support and funding it needs to do its job.
Says Owen, “CIISA was established to help address discrimination and abuse in the creative industries, yet we took clear evidence from CIISA which raised valid fears over the lack of statutory protection on income as part of its funding model. We are very concerned that CIISA is being asked to undertake its duties with one arm tied behind its back”.