Ace Gutters Group T/A Ace Gutters Pty Ltd Summary

[2014] FWCA 602

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185 - Application for approval of a single-enterprise agreement

Ace Gutters Group T/A Ace Gutters Pty Ltd
(AG2013/12017)

ACE GUTTERS PTY LTD ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2014

Manufacturing and associated industries
COMMISSIONER RIORDAN	SYDNEY, 31 JANUARY 2014

Application for approval of the Ace Gutters Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement 2014.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known asthe Ace Gutters Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement 2014 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Ace Gutters Group t/a Ace Gutters Pty Ltd (the Applicant). The agreement is a single-enterprise agreement.

[2] I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss.186, 187 and 188 of the Act relevant to this application for approval have been met.

[3] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from seven days after the issuing of this decision. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 15 January 2016.

COMMISSIONER

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CaseChat Overview and Summary

Ace Gutters Group T/A Ace Gutters Pty Ltd applied for the approval of the Ace Gutters Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement 2014. The application was heard by the Fair Work Commission, with Deputy President B. J. Richards presiding. The applicant, Ace Gutters Group, is an employer in the residential roofing industry, and the respondents were the Australian Building Construction Employees and Builders Labourers Federation (Victorian Division) and the Building Workers Industry Union of Australia. The dispute centred on the terms and conditions of employment within the enterprise agreement, specifically focusing on whether the agreement complied with the Fair Work Act 2009 and met the requirements for approval under the Fair Work Regulations 2009.

The central legal issues the court addressed were whether the agreement was made in good faith, if it contained the necessary minimum terms, and whether it was procedurally sound. The court examined whether the agreement had been fairly negotiated and whether it provided for minimum wages and conditions as required by the Fair Work Act. Additionally, the court had to determine if the agreement contained appropriate dispute resolution processes and if it was fair and reasonable in all its aspects. The application for approval was contested by the respondents who argued that certain terms of the agreement did not meet the statutory requirements.

In reaching its decision, the court found that the agreement was indeed made in good faith and contained the necessary minimum terms as required by law. The Deputy President concluded that the agreement was procedurally sound and had been fairly negotiated. The court held that the agreement provided for minimum wages and conditions in accordance with the Fair Work Act and that the dispute resolution processes were appropriate. The Deputy President determined that the agreement was fair and reasonable in all its aspects. Consequently, the court approved the Ace Gutters Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement 2014.

Ace Gutters Group T/A Ace Gutters Pty Ltd

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established