Press Release 08/2026
30 March 2026

The ruling
The Competition, Regulation and Supervision Court (TCRS) has fully upheld the decision of the Portuguese Competition Authority (AdC) to fine three companies of the multinational technology consultancy group Inetum a total of €3,092,000 for anticompetitive practices in the labour market.
This ruling constitutes the first judicial confirmation in Portugal of a fine imposed for restrictive practices in labour markets.
The Court considers the offence to be “very serious”. “Indeed, this concerns a market for highly qualified human capital, where the supply of specialised professionals is scarce and demand is intensive,” the judgment states, adding that “labour mobility is not merely an individual right, but the main driver of efficiency and innovation.”
“By restricting this mobility, the companies involved in the agreement did not merely impose a commercial restriction; they effectively immobilised the most critical asset of a high value-added sector,” the Court held.
“We could not fail to observe that the information technology sector is a pillar of the modernisation of the Portuguese economy, serving critical sectors such as banking and insurance. The existence of a no-poach cartel in this technological niche casts a shadow of inefficiency over the entire value chain that depends on it, increasing the reprehensibility of the conduct given the economic importance of the affected sector,” the judgment reads.
The Court further underlined that “far from ensuring consumers a fair share of the benefits, the no-poach agreement harms consultancy clients. By limiting the mobility of top specialists, it prevents talent from being allocated to the projects where it would be most productive, potentially resulting in lower-quality services or higher prices.”

The anticompetitive practice
At issue are bilateral “no-poach” agreements, through which competing companies committed not to recruit and/or not to approach each other’s employees with unsolicited job offers.
According to the AdC’s investigation, the Inetum group participated in this agreement for at least seven years, between March 2014 and August 2021. This conduct had the effect of restricting competition in the labour market by limiting worker mobility and reducing their bargaining power, with potential impacts on wages and career progression.

By restricting competition for talent, these practices:

• reduce workers’ ability to change jobs freely;

• lessen competitive pressure for wage increases and better working conditions;

• limit companies’ innovation and productivity by restricting the circulation of knowledge and skills;

• distort the efficient functioning of the economy by affecting the allocation of human resources.

Investigation and background
The investigation was opened in March 2022, following the AdC’s identification of indications of such practices in the technology consultancy sector.
Within the same proceedings, the AdC had already sanctioned three other companies for similar conduct between 2014 and 2022, imposing total fines of €4,082,000, reduced as a result of cooperation provided during the investigation under the settlement procedure.
The AdC’s action in this area forms part of a broader strengthening of enforcement in labour markets initiated in 2020. In September 2021, the Authority published a Report and a Best Practices Guide with recommendations aimed at preventing no-poach agreements.

Determination of the fine
The amount of the fine was determined on the basis of the companies’ turnover in the affected market, taking into account the gravity and duration of the infringement, the degree of participation of the companies and their economic situation, in accordance with the Competition Law.
Tackling anticompetitive practices in labour markets is one of the AdC’s enforcement priorities, reflecting the negative impact of such conduct on the efficient functioning of markets, business competitiveness and workers’ welfare.
This decision reinforces the importance of compliance with competition rules also in the labour domain, ensuring more dynamic and competitive markets.