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

In a landmark investigation, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has fined four major UK sports broadcast and production companies a total of £4,240,356 for colluding on rates of pay for freelance workers. The companies involved were BT, IMG, ITV, and the BBC, with Sky exempt from a financial penalty as it was the first to report its involvement to the CMA.

The CMA’s investigation revealed that these companies unlawfully shared sensitive information about fees such as day rates and pay rises for freelance workers, including camera operators and sound technicians. The CMA found 15 instances of unlawful information exchange. In most cases, the explicit aim was to coordinate freelancer pay rates. Correspondence between some of the companies highlighted their desire to align and benchmark rates, as well as avoid bidding wars.

BT, IMG, ITV and the BBC all received reduced fines for admitting to breaking the law, with BT, IMG and ITV receiving additional discounts for coming forward about their involvement and assisting the CMA in its investigation under its leniency programme. The fines would have been higher had this not been the case.

Juliette Enser, Executive Director for Competition Enforcement at the CMA, emphasised the importance of fair pay for production teams who work behind the scenes to bring sports content to millions of viewers.

She stated: "companies should set rates independently of each other so pay is competitive – not doing so could leave workers out of pocket."

The CMA recognises that the exchange of certain types of information between businesses can be pro-competitive or competitively neutral. However, sharing competitively sensitive information about rates of pay and terms and conditions without appropriate safeguards can reduce competition between those businesses in the recruitment and retention of staff and may ultimately leave employees and freelancers worse off.

This case serves as a reminder to employers of their legal obligations to avoid anti-competitive behaviour in labour markets and underscores the CMA's acknowledgement that labour markets are important for the UK’s economic growth as a whole.

The CMA believes it is important that businesses have a culture of competition law compliance and that everyone in a business understands what they need to do to stay on the right side of competition law.

It has confirmed that it will publish further guidance for employers on how to avoid anti-competitive behaviour in labour markets in the coming months. It is expected that such guidance will also discuss no-poaching agreements between businesses which are also unlawful.