Competition Law Risks Related To No-Poach Agreements

Recently, the Turkish Competition Authority ("TCA"), alongside its international counterparts in the United States and the European Union, has increased scrutiny over no-poach agreements and other employment related competition law infringements. During the past few years, the Competition Board (the "Board") conducted several investigations and imposed fines on undertakings that entered into anti-competitive no[1]poach agreements in a wide range of sectors. Notably, the Board imposed in total a fine of TRY 58 million (approximately USD 4.6 million) on 19 private hospitals¹ and TRY 151 million (approximately USD 5.6 million) on 16 undertakings² on the grounds of restricting employee mobility through no-poach agreements.