Non-Solicitation Agreements: Recent Developments And The Competition Law Perspective

The Turkish Competition Authority (“Authority”), in its reasoned decision dated July 26, 2023 and numbered 23-34/649-218 and published on July 10, 2025 (“Decision”), has clearly established that restrictions on employment between undertakings may constitute anti-competitive agreements within the scope of Article 4 of Law No. 4054 on the Protection of Competition (“Competition Law”). The Decision analyzes the impact of no-poach agreements—particularly among undertakings operating in sectors such as software and e-commerce—on the labor market and sets out important criteria for determining when and how such agreements violate competition law.

The Authority's investigation focused on agreements not to employ each other's personnel between undertakings in various sectors. The Authority concluded that the effects of these agreements arise not in the end product or service markets, but in the labor market, which functions as a critical input for production. As such,