STORY 24

I was asked to sign an NDA to prevent me speaking about the circumstances that led to the end of my career.  A student was sexually assaulted, and for reasons unknown, I was victimised for supporting her. This resulted in my being bullied and harassed to the point that it affected my health. In the end, I was left with no choice but to seek legal advice. 

Lawyers contacted my employer asking them to cease and desist this behaviour.  They did not however.  This resulted in a protracted process where my employer decided that I could no longer work there.  I was given a very short period of notice.  I was offered a small severance package, but on the condition that I signed an NDA.  For me, the signing of an NDA was non negotiable, it was something I was not willing to do.  The stakes were high in that my employer continually refused to make a payout without my signing the NDA.  After continued refusal on my part, they then stipulated that they would make the payout if I agreed to show them anything I was going to publish about the case, before it went public. I refused this too. 

The deadline for submitting a claim to an employment tribunal was at midday on a given date.  At 11.50am, maybe realising that I was willing to go to court, and therefore this would be a matter of public record, my former employer settled.

Refusing to sign the NDA was incredibly hard, especially given other pressures.  However, I do not regret it for a minute.   The proudest day of my previous career was seeing the story of what had happened in the national media.  The story wasn’t just about me, it was about ALL the women that this man had harassed, it was about everyone’s daughter, or sister or wife or girlfriend, who would not be protected by my former employer. It was about safe spaces for women, and the right of women to be in those spaces.  Je ne regrette rien.