DfE taking hard line on consent for inclusion of confidentiality provisions in settlement agreements

The Academy Trust Handbook and College Financial Handbook were amended in October to significantly restrict the use of confidentiality provisions in settlement agreements. There continues to be a lack of certainty in a number of areas. 

Stone King has written to the Department for Education (DfE) asking for clarification on various issues, and we are awaiting a response. In the meantime we are aware that a number of academies are seeking consent for the inclusion of these kinds of clauses in settlement agreements. 

We are currently seeing DfE taking a hard line in relation to those consents and on the face of it, the circumstances in which consent will be granted will be extremely limited. Until we have guidance or clarification from the DfE, academies (and colleges) remain in an uncertain position, which is also further fuelled by trade unions' resistance to the inclusion of these provisions.