THE COMPETITION BOARD’S INVESTIGATION INTO CERTAIN UNDERTAKINGS, MOST OF WHICH OPERATE IN THE PHARMACEUTICAL SECTOR, REGARDING THE LABOR MARKET HAS BEEN CONCLUDED
With the decision of the Competition Board dated September 11, 2025, and numbered 25-34/810-474 (the “Decision”), the investigation conducted into certain undertakings, most of which operate in the pharmaceutical sector, has been concluded. The investigation concerned allegations that these undertakings violated Article 4 of the Law No. 4054 on the Protection of Competition by entering into no-poaching agreements and/or exchanging competitively sensitive information.
Non-Solicitation Agreements:
The Decision in question provides that non-solicitation agreements constitute direct or indirect arrangements whereby undertakings competing in the labor market mutually agree not to recruit each other’s employees or make employment offers to them. Such agreements may take various forms, and regardless of their form, they shall be regarded as arrangements that restrict competition.
Exchange of Sensitive Information Regarding Employee Salaries and Benefits:
The Decision further states that, in competition law, the concept of information exchange encompasses the sharing of sensitive information between competing undertakings that could, or have the potential to, affect their commercial strategies. It is noted that the sharing of forward-looking information regarding employee salaries and benefits falls within this scope.
As a result of the investigation, it was determined that some undertakings were involved in concerted practices or agreements aimed at no-poaching, while others exchanged forward-looking sensitive information concerning employee salaries and benefits.
As a result of these assessments, it was decided to impose administrative fines totaling to 244,801,302.91 TL* on 17 undertakings found to have engaged in violations.
*During the investigation process, some undertakings acknowledged the existence of the infringement and benefited from the settlement procedure. The amount specified does not include administrative fines imposed under the settlement.
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