The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has published a guide setting out what organisations need to consider from a competition law perspective when recruiting workers and setting pay and other working conditions.

The guide is an accessible introduction to some of the more common practices within the workplace that might fall foul of competition law, and includes a number of helpful practical scenarios, alongside examples of myths that abound about the applicability or otherwise of competition law in certain situations.

The guide highlights and examines the three main types of anti-competitive behaviour in labour markets: (i) no-poaching agreements, wherein a business agrees not to hire or poach another business’ employees; (ii) wage-fixing, which involves businesses that compete for the same type of employees agreeing to fix pay, benefit or other terms and conditions of employment; and (iii) exchanging competitively sensitive information, which the CMA  acknowledges is a complicated area and therefore provides ‘high-level principles’ that will inform whether exchanges of information are likely to raise competition law concerns.

The guide also discusses collective negotiations between workers and employers, making it clear that the CMA will “not seek to enforce competition law whenever workers and companies buying their labour come together to reach a genuine collective bargain. This applies irrespective of whether the workers are employed or self-employed”. However, the guide also sets out when collective bargaining may cross the line into anti-competitive activity.

Finally, the guide contains a series of helpful tips by way of a checklist that businesses should take into account to avoid breaking competition law, together with a cautionary reminder of the consequences of breaking the law.

To read more, click here.

Our employment and immigration lawyers are experts at advising on how the law applies to the specific circumstances facing the media, technology, games and sports sectors. Our specialists would be delighted to advise on any of the considerations touched on this piece. If you have any questions, please contact us here.