POLAND Trends and Developments Contributed by: Sabina Famirska, Hansberry Tomkiel
employees on social media to offer them a job). Such arrangements may also take a more passive form ‒ for example, entrepreneurs may agree that they will not interview a competitor’s employee or will only conduct a mock interview, which will end with a decision of no interest that is communicated to the candidate. Wage-fixing agreements and no-poach agreements are not the only anti-competitive labour market agree - ments; such agreements may also concern other working conditions for employees. They may pertain to a wide range of benefits that may be included in a job offer or terms of employment ‒ for example, the number of training courses offered to employees, non-wage benefits, or the number of remote working days offered. Such arrangements concern the basic parameters of competition for employees in the labour market. As a result, they may be considered to have the object of restricting competition. Formally speaking, the above-mentioned agreements may be considered a violation referred to in Article 6 (1)(1) of the Competition and Consumer Protection Act ‒ that is, relating to either price (eg, wage fixing and other arrangements to the extent that the other agreed-upon terms may be considered part of the “price”) or other conditions of purchase (in this case, the good that is subject to “purchase” is labour). “Object box” agreements? In its guide, the PCA indicated that it would treat the above-mentioned agreements on the labour market as belonging to the “object box” category. Such arrange - ments are usually considered to have the “object” of restricting competition; the PCA does not have to demonstrate the effects of the infringement to prove its existence. The PCA explained that collusion restricting competi - tion in the labour market may per se have a negative impact on both the situation of employees and the dynamics of economic development. Restrictions on competition in the labour market mean that employees receive lower wages than they would have received if the restriction on competition did not exist. As a result, employees receive less attractive job offers or are deprived of them altogether.
From the point of view of entrepreneurs, restrictions on competition in the labour market may indirectly affect opportunities for business development. If a group of contractors of a given entrepreneur restricts competition among themselves in the labour mar - ket, the overall level of competition among them also decreases. This, in turn, affects the quality of their products and services and consequently the situation of the entrepreneur who contracts with this group of colluding contractors. Examples of decisions by the PCA Some interesting examples of wage-fixing agree - ments, which have already been concluded by deci - sions of the PCA, are cases concerning the determi - nation of players’ salaries in league basketball and speedway competitions. The Polish Basketball League case In Decision No DOK 1/2022 of 20 October 2022 , the PCA found that an agreement entered into by bas - ketball clubs affiliated with the Polish Basketball League ‒ consisting of the joint decision not to pay players their full salaries for the 2019/2020 season ‒ restricted competition. According to the arrangements in question, contracts with basketball players were to be terminated earlier without paying the players their remuneration. As a result, the clubs could afford to reduce financial benefits to players without fear that the players would subsequently move to other clubs in the following season. The written justification of the PCA’s decision indi - cates that the early termination of the league games was related to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pan - demic. In its decision, the PCA did not question the clubs’ right to terminate players’ contracts owing to force majeure (COVID-19); rather, it questioned the fact that the clubs jointly agreed on a course of action (ie, the purchase price for the services provided by the players). According to the PCA, the decisions made by the clubs did not take into account the individual
economic situation of each of the clubs. The PZM and Ekstraliga Żużlowa case
In Decision No DOK-1/2023 released 5 June 2023 , the PCA challenged an agreement between the Pol - ish Motor Association ( Polski Związek Motorowy , or
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