Press Release 10/2025
September 10, 2025

The Portuguese Competition Authority (“AdC”) is investigating anticompetitive practices in the labour market carried out by some of the main companies active in the beverage industry in Portugal, in the period between 2016 and 2023.
A Statement of Objections has been addressed to three companies and, based on joint and several liability, to the parent company of one of them, following the conclusion that there is a reasonable likelihood that a sanctioning decision may be adopted regarding the conclusion of agreements not to hire or solicit each other’s workers.

The investigation

On 12 January 2024, the AdC opened the investigation following the submission of a leniency application, which revealed evidence that three companies operating in the beverage industry had entered into no-poach agreements, under which they undertook not to hire or make unsolicited offers to each other’s workers.
At this stage of the proceedings, the AdC is giving the companies concerned – which benefit from the presumption of innocence – the opportunity to exercise their rights of defence and to respond to the practices under investigation, the evidence gathered, and the sanction they may face.
Once this stage is completed and all available elements are assessed, the AdC will adopt a final decision.

Anticompetitive practices in the labour market

No-poach agreements are arrangements whereby companies commit not to hire and/or not to make unsolicited offers to the workers of companies with which they have concluded such agreements.
No-poach practices are prohibited under the Competition Act, as they restrict companies’ autonomy in defining strategic commercial conditions, in this case, human resources hiring policies, and may occur in any sector of activity.
These practices may harm workers of the companies involved, by reducing their bargaining power vis-à-vis the employer and, consequently, their wage levels, as well as by depriving them of labour mobility.
Final consumers may also be affected by such practices, as reductions in innovation, quality, and output – potential effects of no-poach agreements between companies – may ultimately lead to higher prices or lower quality, thus affecting consumer welfare.
In 2021, the AdC published a Report and a Best Practices Guide to raise awareness of the potential negative effects of anticompetitive agreements in labour markets, as well as to encourage the adoption of preventive best practices. The AdC has already adopted several sanctioning decisions imposing fines in cases concerning restrictive practices in labour markets, specifically no-poach practices.
Strengthening awareness among public and private stakeholders about the importance of competition in labour markets remains one of the AdC’s priorities, given that these practices affect citizens’ lives, namely as workers, and consumers.