The Victims & Prisoners Act 2024 kicked in on 1 October 2025 — a welcome shift that gives yacht crew stronger protection around NDAs.

In practice, this means an NDA can no longer stop a crew member who believes they’ve experienced criminal behavior from speaking to police, lawyers, regulators, medical professionals or support services. Any clause trying to restrict those disclosures is automatically void under English law.

But yachting isn’t straightforward. Offshore flags, non-UK based contracts, English-law settlements and UK-based managers all create a grey area in how these changes play out on real yachts.

What is clear?

Anyone relying on older or generic NDA wording with crew should be paying close attention.

Cornerstone is already supporting clients as they review documentation and prepare for this shift.

Full text on the changes can be found here:
https://lnkd.in/ePY6eNiV