Two-Minute Recap Competition Law Matters Around The Globe

CMA Issues Guidance on Competition in Labour Markets

In September 2025, the UK Competition and Markets Authority ("CMA") published a practical guide entitled Competing for Talent, focusing on how competition law applies in labour markets. The guide stresses that businesses not only compete for customers but also for workers, and therefore practices such as no poaching agreements, wage-fixing, and the exchange of competitively sensitive information between employers may amount to unlawful cartel conduct. The CMA highlights that these restrictions can reduce employee mobility, depress wages, and limit business growth. The guidance provides illustrative examples, clarifies the distinction between legitimate collective bargaining and anti-competitive coordination, and outlines the severe sanctions companies and individuals may face for infringements.