Guidance

Managing competitively sensitive information

Published 25 September 2014

© Crown copyright 2014

This publication is licensed under the terms of the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. To view this licence, visit nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3 or write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gov.uk.

Where we have identified any third party copyright information you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holders concerned.

This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/limiting-risk-in-relation-to-competitors-information/managing-competitively-sensitive-information

What you and your staff need to know

Competitively sensitive information covers any non-public strategic information about a business’s commercial policy. It includes, but is not limited to, future pricing and output plans. Historical commercial information is far less likely to be sensitive, particularly if individual businesses’ commercial activities cannot be identified in it.

Complying with competition law is good business practice. Long-term compliance saves money by avoiding the potential for fines and significant damage to a company’s reputation.

Being part of discussions of certain aspects of business with competitors and suppliers may risk a breach of competition law.

Discussions might take place in meetings, by phone or email, or face to face. Below are several key points you should always bear in mind in those situations, however they arise.

If you have any doubts, seek legal advice.

Things to avoid

In order to comply with competition law, it’s important that you don’t:

  • discuss with competitors your business’s future: pricing intentions, including rebates or discounts or commercial strategy, such as what, and to whom, you plan on selling and/or on what terms
  • disclose any of your customers’ future pricing plans to other customers
  • remain in any situation, professional or social, in which any competitor discusses their future pricing plans or other competitively sensitive information. Leave and seek the advice of a lawyer.

If you’re not sure, make sure you think before you:

  • disclose your business’s current or historical cost or pricing information to a competitor
  • discuss general conditions in your industry or projected industry pricing trends with your competitors (such discussions will not always break the law, but risk doing so)

Activities that don’t risk you breaking competition law

There are a lot of things that you can do without running the risk of breaking the law.

You can:

  • discuss with your competitors historical and aggregated industry pricing or cost trends (which don’t allow individual players’ pricing or costing to be identified). But be careful: don’t be part of discussions on future costs or prices, and don’t remain in a meeting on them

  • have friends in competing businesses - just keep these tips in mind

The consequences of breaching competition law can be very serious for you and your business.

These materials do not constitute legal advice and should not be relied upon as such.

Back to top