Government releases guidance on non-disclosure clauses related to product safety

Article summary

The Office for Product Safety and Standards has published guidance for businesses regarding the use of non-disclosure clauses in compensation settlement agreements relating to product safety.  It has reiterated that non-disclosure clauses should not be used ‘to attempt to prevent a consumer from speaking to a regulator about a product in relation to a product safety concern’. Businesses using these types of clauses should ensure that customers understand the limitations of these clauses and that they can still report ‘a safety concern or incident to a regulator’. The guidance includes recommendations such as avoiding broad phrases which are likely to be unenforceable, using plain English in the contract, and making the consumer aware that the non-disclosure clause does not prevent them raising safety issues to the appropriate public authorities.