Labour market restrictions: distorting supply and demand or protecting investments and trade secrets?

Place: Microsoft Teams Live
Time: 10:00 (GMT+3), October 8, 2024
Working language: English
labour market restrictions

In today’s business landscape, companies often struggle with finding the right balance between protecting their interests and ensuring compliance with the increasingly complicated legal requirements. Competition law encourages companies to safeguard their trade secrets and investments in employees through restrictions in employment agreements. Conversely, employment law tends to protect the employees’ freedom of speech and right to free movement, setting forth strict rules  for any restrictive covenants. So, where does this leave businesses?

Consider this scenario, often troubling companies that come to us for advice: You have a highly valuable employee in whom you’ve invested significant resources. The employee knows everything about your company, including all the trade secrets. This employee is now crucial to a new client project, yet the basic employment agreement you used years ago when you hired the employee lacks necessary protections like non-compete clauses. Your client rejects your proposal for a non-solicitation clause, citing competition law concerns. Are your only options to either not service this client or to accept the risk that the client may recruit your employee?

Join our webinar at 10 am on 8 October 2024, where we’ll explore these issues and the complex landscape of labour market restrictions in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

Our experts together with representatives of competition authorities will discuss how to navigate challenges to balance the interests of employers, employees and the general public.

What you will learn: 

  • Recognising the conflict: Gain an understanding of the tension between competition law and employment law, and its impact on your business.
  • Protecting your interests: Learn what tools might be possible under competition and employment law to protect your investments in employee training and confidential information.
  • Getting legal insights: Get expert advice on creating effective employment agreements that comply with legal standards.
  • Facing real-world scenarios: Explore practical examples and case studies relevant to the Baltic region.

This webinar is particularly relevant for companies with valuable employees or those who struggle with competitors, suppliers, or clients looking to restrict employee mobility or wages. Everyone in your organisation responsible for protecting employer interests (be it executives, HR professionals, in-house legal counsels, or compliance officers) will likely benefit from this webinar.

Registration is free of charge and open until October 7.

Should you have any questions or need further information, please feel free to reach out to us at anna.dsouza@sorainen.com.

  • 10:00

    Welcome address

    Kaupo Lepasepp, Country managing partner at Sorainen Estonia

  • 10:05

    Different types of labour market restrictions: competition law leaves very little room for lawful labour market restrictions between employers

    Auridas Litvinas, Competition law expert at Sorainen Lithuania

  • 10:30

    Economic perspective: why are employers interested in labour market restrictions?

    Kalle Kantanen, Senior economist at Copenhagen Economics

  • 10:45

    Regulatory perspective: practice and views of the local competition authorities, panel discussion

    Eugen Elison Kask, Case handler at the Estonian Competition Authority; Piret Lohu, Case handler at the Estonian Competition Authority; Matīss Dzelve, Chief Lawyer in International Cooperation at the Competition Council of Latvia; Daumantas Grikinis, Head of Anti-competitive Agreements Investigation Group at the Lithuanian Competition Council; Marika Grunte, Competition law expert at Sorainen Latvia

  • 11:15

    Legal perspective: tools available for protecting trade secrets and investments under employment law in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania

    Pirkko-Liis Harkmaa, Employment law expert at Sorainen Estonia; Andis Burkevics, Employment law expert at Sorainen Latvia; Algirdas Pekšys, Partner with Sorainen Lithuania

  • 11:35

    Discussion: is maximising restrictions in employment agreements a win-win for all?

    Piibe Lehtsaar, Competition law expert at Sorainen Estonia; Pirkko-Liis Harkmaa, Employment law expert at Sorainen Estonia; Madara Mančinska, Head of sales at Tilde; Kaupo Lepasepp, Country managing partner at Sorainen Estonia

  • 11:50

    Summary

    Kaupo Lepasepp, Country managing partner at Sorainen Estonia