For a generation, the Irish harassment complaint had a standard ending: a settlement with a silence clause, drafted by the employer’s lawyers, signed under pressure, priced accordingly. The Oireachtas ended that model on 20 November 2024 — not by banning confidentiality, but by doing something more precise: handing the choice of it to the employee, and enforcing the handover with voidness.
The New Default
NDAs covering allegations of discrimination, harassment, sexual harassment or victimisation — or the employer’s response to them — are void, with two exceptions: terms arising from WRC mediation, and the excepted NDA meeting the full checklist: requested by the employee; preceded by independent legal advice in writing at the employer’s reasonable cost; clear language; no penalty clause; unlimited duration only by the employee’s choice; a 14-day cooling-off; and preserved disclosures to the listed persons — Gardaí, legal practitioners, doctors and mental-health professionals, Revenue, the Ombudsman, union officials. One missed condition, one void NDA — which cuts both ways, and is worth knowing whichever chair you occupy.
What It Changes at the Negotiating Table
Three shifts, all toward the complainant. Silence became priced: confidentiality the employer wants is now something the employee grants — or doesn’t — which changes what it is worth. Advice became structural: the statutory review (of the whole agreement — the sum against the claims released, the clocks still running, the reference, the preserved disclosures) arrives as of right, at the employer’s reasonable cost. Pressure lost its tool: the 14-day cooling-off means even a signed agreement can be withdrawn — the Friday-deadline settlement tactic died in November 2024. The clocks caveat stays honest: WRC limits run while negotiations proceed, so the claim gets protected in time whatever the talks promise (the limits).
Time limits in these cases are short, strict, and depend on your exact circumstances — WRC complaints generally run on months, civil claims on years, and important extensions exist, particularly for survivors of abuse. Never assume you are out of time, and never assume you have time: take advice promptly. Nothing on this page is legal advice for your situation.
Using the New Regime
If an agreement is in front of you: sign nothing yet, invoke the advice the Act requires, and have the draft walked against the checklist and the underlying claims — a settlement reviewed is sometimes a settlement renegotiated (the practice page). If an old NDA weighs on you: its actual reach is often narrower than its drafting implies, and a confidential review answers what it really binds. And where the settlement follows a protected disclosure as well as harassment, both statutory regimes police it — the whistleblowing overrides never went away (that machinery).
An NDA on the Table?
The review is now your statutory right - at your employer's reasonable cost where the Act applies. Use it thoroughly: the whole agreement, not just the silence clause.
Call 01 5827148Related Reading
The 2024 NDA Rules - FAQs
About the Author
Richard O’Shea, Solicitor practises with Mary Molloy Solicitors (established 1981), acting for whistleblowers facing penalisation, workers experiencing harassment, and people pursuing civil claims, throughout Ireland. Richard holds a Diploma in Mediation from the Law Society of Ireland — used in this work only as these cases should use it: as one option among several that always remain the client’s choice. Consultations are confidential. Contact Richard on 01 5827148 or richardoshea@marymolloysolicitors.com.
This article is for general information only and does not constitute legal advice. Every situation is different, and you should obtain advice on your own circumstances before acting. In contentious business, a solicitor may not calculate fees or other charges as a percentage or proportion of any award or settlement.