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UK CMA £4m fines for freelancer pay collusion: labour market competition law risks for HR, recruiters and agencies on information sharing, no-poach and wage-fixing, compliance training and enforcement

Published on: 01 April 2025

Published by a Law360 reporter
Legal News
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Article summary

Press release: Sports broadcast and production companies fined £4 million in freelancer pay investigation

BT and the British Broadcasting Corp have rolled out or refreshed competition law training for staff after the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) penalised them and three rivals in an unusual move to police labour practices.

  • BT
  • British Broadcasting Corp
  • ITV
  • IMG
  • Sky

At the same time, on 21 March 2025, the CMA closed an inconclusive investigation into seven film and television companies’ employment practices in non-sports broadcasting, saying it will instead flag concerns to the businesses under scrutiny. Alongside this, the regulator has pledged to refresh its 2023 guidance to help employers avoid anti-competitive labour conduct. According to DWF LLP partner Dimitris Sinaniotis, these steps point to limited awareness among recruiters and HR teams of how easily competition rules can be breached. He emphasised that training and compliance are what count; while not straightforward, the key message is that competition law applies across every level of a business. Lawyers said HR professionals are likely to remain cautious about clear violations such as wage-fixing and no-poach arrangements...

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