Non-disclosure agreements are being used by schools to “hide away” malpractices such as discrimination, bullying and intimidation, the annual conference of the NEU teaching union was told today.

And teachers at the online conference today voted to oppose the incorrect use of such agreements - also known as gagging orders - to silence teachers on wrongdoings that have happened to them.

Samina Randall, of the NEU’s City of Leicester branch, said non-disclosure agreements and settlement agreements were “hiding away” malpractices and “brushing them under the carpet”, leaving union caseworkers with “a redacted textbook” to work from.

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She said: “They assign no responsibility. The issue is not resolved [and] an offer is made without prejudice, meaning [schools] are not admitting any wrongdoing.”

Gagging orders in schools ‘brushing problems under the carpet’

But she added: “We’re an education union and should learn from the past mistreatment of our members to inform how to improve working conditions for all our members and better prepare to defend our members in any future actions… It is essential to know what is going on, and it is essential to know that we do not miss the opportunity of the deadline for an employment tribunal. We need to expose bad practice, and build a better future, by learning from our past.”

The conference heard how nearly 1,300 settlement agreements were signed last year and that nearly 1,600 were signed in 2019.

Ms Randall said: “Next year how many of you or your colleagues will have been discriminated against, pushed out, denied pay progression or promotion or fast-tracked into capability procedures?

“Bullying and intimidation exist in the workplace…all too often it is the member who suffers, and has to live with it, or seek another job, sometimes leaving the education profession altogether. The accuser or accusers rarely suffer the consequences of their actions. They are often well protected in the workplace with support for the local authority from the academy group or organisation.”

Ms Randall said: “Who doesn’t benefit from a settlement agreement? You and me, it hides all away, brushes it under the carpet. A settlement agreement provides our caseworkers with a redacted textbook to work with - yeah, a redacted textbook.”

The conference voted, as part of a motion on “protecting black lives in education”, to “oppose incorrect use of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs), as supported by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, to silence members in any settlements negotiated by the union for member with the employer”.