Managing the competition risks of communication between competitors

Purpose – The study sets out to report and comment, from a competition law perspective, on communication between competitors. Design/methodology/approach – The study outlines the facts and presents an opinion. Findings – The study finds that communications between competitors can give rise to serious competition risks. Such risks can be managed by putting in place a compliance programme. Such a programme should make employees aware of topics to avoid and topics that are safe to discuss. Originality/value – The study shows how employees need to be aware of when an issue falls within a grey area of potentially problematic issues, so that they may seek advice where required. In competition law, prevention is better than cure.