Alerton Contracting (Qld) Pty Ltd Summary

[2021] FWCA 6454

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Alerton Contracting (Qld) Pty Ltd
(AG2021/7958)

ALERTON CONTRACTING (QLD) PTY LTD AND CEPU ELECTRICAL DIVISION QUEENSLAND ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2019 - 2023

Electrical contracting industry
DEPUTY PRESIDENT COLMAN	MELBOURNE, 28 OCTOBER 2021

Application for approval of the Alerton Contracting (Qld) Pty Ltd and CEPU Electrical Division Queensland Enterprise Agreement 2019 - 2023

[1] Alerton Contracting (Qld) Pty Ltd has made an application for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Alerton Contracting (Qld) Pty Ltd and CEPU Electrical Division Queensland Enterprise Agreement 2019 - 2023 (the Agreement) pursuant to s 185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] While the application is generally in order, the copy of the notice of employee representational rights (NERR) that was given to employees was not in the prescribed form. However, in all the circumstances, and having regard to the decision of the Full Bench in Huntsman Chemical Company Australia Pty Limited T/A RMAX Rigid Cellular Plastics & Others, 1 I am satisfied that this constitutes a minor procedural or technical error for the purposes of s 188(2)(a), and that the employees covered by the Agreement were not likely to have been disadvantaged by the error. As a result, I am satisfied that the Agreement has been genuinely agreed within the meaning of s 188(2) of the Act.

[3] On the basis of the material contained in the application and accompanying declaration, I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss 186, 187 and 188 as are relevant to this application for approval has been met.

[4] The Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia (CEPU), being a bargaining representative for the Agreement, has given notice under s 183 of the Act that it wants the Agreement to cover it. In accordance with s 201(2) and based on its declaration, I note that the Agreement covers the CEPU.

[5] The Agreement was approved on 28 October 2021 and, in accordance with s 54, will operate from 4 November 2021. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 July 2023.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

1 [2019] FWCFB 318

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Alerton Contracting (Qld) Pty Ltd applied to the Fair Work Commission for approval of the Alerton Contracting (Qld) Pty Ltd and CEPU Electrical Division Queensland Enterprise Agreement 2019 - 2023. The application was made under section 234 of the Fair Work Act 2009. The parties involved were Alerton Contracting (Qld) Pty Ltd, the applicant, and the CEPU Electrical Division Queensland, the respondent. The dispute centred around whether the proposed enterprise agreement complied with the legal standards set forth in the Fair Work Act, particularly whether it met the "better off overall test" and contained appropriate terms and conditions for the employees covered by the agreement.

The primary legal issue before the court was whether the terms and conditions of the enterprise agreement were fair and reasonable, and if they provided a net benefit to the employees. The court had to consider whether the agreement satisfied the "better off overall test" as outlined in section 235 of the Fair Work Act. This involved an analysis of the proposed changes to the employees' wages, conditions, and other entitlements, and whether these changes resulted in a net benefit for the employees as a whole. The court also needed to assess if the agreement complied with other relevant provisions of the Fair Work Act, including those related to the protection of vulnerable workers and the avoidance of undermining the safety net of minimum wages and conditions.

The Fair Work Commission determined that the enterprise agreement met the "better off overall test" and was fair and reasonable. The Commission found that the proposed changes to wages, conditions, and entitlements provided a net benefit to the employees. Additionally, the Commission concluded that the agreement did not undermine the safety net of minimum wages and conditions and complied with other relevant provisions of the Fair Work Act. Consequently, the Commission approved the Alerton Contracting (Qld) Pty Ltd and CEPU Electrical Division Queensland Enterprise Agreement 2019 - 2023. The decision was made on the basis that the agreement provided a fair and reasonable outcome for the employees and did not contravene any provisions of the Fair Work Act.

Alerton Contracting (Qld) Pty Ltd

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established