diff --git a/.github/workflows/compliance.yml b/.github/workflows/compliance.yml
index 84953a33685..3a5fc4f9abe 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/compliance.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/compliance.yml
@@ -37,6 +37,9 @@ jobs:
         git config --global user.email "you@example.com"
         git config --global user.name "Your Name"
         git remote -v
+        # Ensure there's no merge commits in the PR
+        [[ "$(git rev-list --merges --count origin/${BASE_REF}..)" == "0" ]] || \
+        (echo "::error ::Merge commits not allowed, rebase instead";false)
         git rebase origin/${BASE_REF}
         # debug
         git log  --pretty=oneline | head -n 10