News
COMPETITION LAW AND EMPLOYMENT RESTRICTIONS: A PAN-EUROPEAN COMPARISON
Increasingly, competition authorities are targeting anti-competitive agreements related to the employment of staff. The restriction is deemed to occur between competing employers, who compete for employee talent. Agreements between them to hold down wages or to refrain from poaching or hiring each others staff are considered serious breaches of competition law, which distort the free running of the market for labour services. We were pleased to collaborate with other members of the Antitrust Alliance in conducting a survey on the state of play across Europe (including the UK) with regard to antitrust enforcement against employment restrictions. This article summarises our findings and highlights key developments (and broad consensus) across 11 jurisdictions. Non-compete clauses can also violate employment laws, although here we found a more divergent picture across the jurisdictions, some labour laws being more interventionist than others.
German Federal Cartel Office Prohibits Amazon’s Price-Control Mechanisms: A Landmark Decision on Hybrid Platforms – April 2026
On 5 February 2026, Germany’s Federal Cartel Office (Bundeskartellamt, “FCO”) announced a far-reaching prohibition directed at Amazon.com, Inc. (Seattle, USA) and Amazon EU S.à r.l. (Luxembourg) (together “Amazon”). The authority bars Amazon from using mechanisms that...
Protecting labour markets in the UK: Understanding the new law – March 2026
1. CMA guidance: labour markets are not an HR carve-out In recent years, competition authorities have turned their attention to anticompetitive practices in labour markets. Competition authorities have come to view businesses as being in competition to recruit and...
ATA consolidates its position in Europe as Band 1 in the Chambers & Partners Europe Guide 2026
The Antitrust Alliance (ATA) has been recognised, for the second consecutive year, as Band 1 – Competition/Antitrust Legal Network in the Chambers & Partners Europe Guide 2026, further strengthening its position as one of the leading European networks of law firms...
The Belgian competition authority’s focus on BID RIGGING: Fines imposed on physical persons and guide on bid rigging issued for public consultation – February 2026
The Belgian Competition Authority ("BCA") has in recent years made bid rigging a central enforcement priority, and its actions are beginning to speak louder than its words. What was once signalled as an intention - most notably the Chief Public Prosecutor's...
ATA renews its global leadership with Band 1 in Chambers & Partners Global Guide 2026
The Antitrust Alliance (ATA) has once again been ranked Band 1 in the Competition/Antitrust – Legal Network (Europe) category by Chambers & Partners in its Global Guide 2026. For more than 10 consecutive years, ATA has maintained its Band 1 position — a reflection...
Merger Control – Call-in Model and Recent Discussions in Slovakia – January 2026
A. Current Legal Framework Currently, merger notification thresholds in Slovakia are based solely on objective criteria, namely the achievement of prescribed turnover thresholds by the parties to a concentration. Recently, the Slovak Antimonopoly Office (“AMO”)...
Lithuanian Competition Council sharpens its focus on anticompetitive agreements in labour markets – December 2025
Employers must be aware not only of the Labour Code, but also of the Law on Competition [1]. This is what the Competition Council of the Republic of Lithuania (hereinafter: the Competition Council) expressed most recently in their public statements [2]. In light of...
Amsterdam District Court: final arbitral award constitutes unlawful state aid.
Several years ago, Spain was ordered by the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) to pay compensation to two Dutch undertakings. Although the arbitral award had become final, the Amsterdam District Court (District Court) ruled in a judgment dated 5 February...