What is a Confidentiality Agreement?

An agreement between an employer and employee in which the employee may not disclose proprietary or confidential information.

Due to the sensitive nature of the information that human resources have access to, these employers are expected to maintain a greater standard of confidentiality. In fact, confidentiality goes beyond just those in HR, the majority of employers make employees sign a confidentiality agreement to protect their business from being stolen or misused by their employees. Through enlisting a confidentiality agreement, you prevent the other party from disclosing or making money from the information (or trade secrets) you share with them.

An agreement including the condition that signatories must maintain the confidentiality of intellectual property and is law-abiding. Breaking such agreements can result in a penalizing court order or other legal punishments.