Should settlement discussions be confidential?

[Jellyandjam05]

I know once an agreement is signed there would likely be confidentiality clauses but what about whilst negotiations are ongoing?
A colleague has made allegations about a boss and is now going around telling everyone that she has been offered X amount but she's not taking it and wants more. It's now all around the workplace how much she has been offered but I thought that that information should be confidential?

My settlement agreement included a clause saying that I would keep everything confidential and also that I hadn’t told anybody already.

So yes she should be keeping it quiet.

Thank you for the reply. I thought this should be the case.

Discussions that lead to a settlement agreement are called a "protected conversation" meaning that what is discussed cannot be used if a claim is brought to Tribunal. Implicit within that is the need for both employer and employee to respect full confidentiality. The colleague is being indiscreet and totally naive.

If word gets back to management that she's been blabbing round the office, they may withdraw their offer entirely, which will be a far worse prospect for the colleague because they would then have the arduous task of going all the way to Tribunal with no guarantee of success. That's if they even have a claim to bring.

And of course the employer would tell the judge that they broke confidentiality...

Thank you for your reply Daisychain01.

It’s between your colleague and your employer. They may or may not have asked her to keep the discussions confidential. If not it’s up to her. If they have, they may withdraw the offer.