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Employee confidentiality agreement (Great Britain)
England and Wales · in English
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12 questions · about 5 min
Made for use in England and Wales
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For an employer and an employee in England, Wales or Scotland: an agreement that the employee keeps the employer's confidential information secret during and after the employment, keeps it secure and returns it on leaving. It states plainly what it cannot stop — whistleblowing, reporting a crime, the disclosures a victim of crime may make, speaking about harassment, discrimination or pay — and contains no non-compete or other restriction after the job ends. Signed by both.
- Made for use in England and Wales
- Last updated October 29, 2026
- Document in English
Where a UK document reproduces the words of legislation or of a government publication — UK, Scottish or Northern Irish — it contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
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When to use this document
- You are hiring someone in England who will see your customer list and prices.
- You want your staff to keep your business secrets even after they leave.
- You want a confidentiality agreement that does not try to stop whistleblowing.
- Your small business in Wales wants clear written rules on confidential information.
What you fill in
The details the document asks for.
- Date
- Employer
- Employer's company number at Companies House (if a company)
- Employer's registered address
- Town or city
- Employer's postcode
- Employee
- Employee's address
- Employee's postcode
- Particular information to name as confidential (optional)
- Law that governs the agreement
- Person signing for the employer
Common questions
- Can a confidentiality agreement stop an employee from whistleblowing or reporting a crime?
- No. A term is void so far as it stops a protected disclosure (section 43J of the Employment Rights Act 1996), and, in England and Wales, since 1 October 2025 an agreement cannot stop a victim of crime from the disclosures section 17 of the Victims and Prisoners Act 2024 allows, for example to the police or a legal adviser; this agreement allows those disclosures wherever the job is. The Employment Rights Act 2025 will also void terms that stop a worker speaking about harassment or discrimination, from a date expected in 2027; this agreement already allows that.
- Does this confidentiality agreement include a non-compete or other restriction after the job ends?
- No, and it says so. Restrictions after employment — not working for a competitor, not approaching customers or staff — are enforceable only if they protect a legitimate business interest and go no further than reasonably necessary for the particular job. They need drafting for that job, so this agreement leaves them out; an employer who wants them should take advice.
- Does an employee owe confidentiality even without a signed agreement?
- Yes, to a point. During employment every employee owes an implied duty of good faith that covers the employer's confidential information. After the employment ends, the implied duty protects only trade secrets and information of a similar degree of confidentiality (Faccenda Chicken v Fowler). A written agreement makes clear what the employer treats as confidential and what happens to its documents when the employee leaves.
How you can sign this document
- Print it and sign by hand. The signature lines in the document are left blank on purpose — sign on them in ink.
- Sign it yourself with a qualified electronic signature. If you already hold a QES — Evrotrust, B-Trust, StampIT, ZealiD or any qualified provider on the EU Trusted List, on a card, a USB token, in a mobile app or in the cloud — our signing guide explains step by step how to sign this exact file without invalidating it. Step-by-step help, and a way to check it worked
DocMuse sells documents, not legal advice. Acceptance always depends on the recipient's rules and your local law.
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