AllRoads Solutions Pty Ltd Summary

[2023] FWCA 1729

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009

s.185—Enterprise agreement

AllRoads Solutions Pty Ltd

(AG2023/1739)

ALLROADS SOLUTIONS PTY LTD ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2023

Building, metal and civil construction industries
DEPUTY PRESIDENT DEAN	CANBERRA, 15 JUNE 2023

Application for approval of the AllRoads Solutions Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement 2023.

An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the AllRoads Solutions Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement 2023 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by AllRoads Solutions Pty Ltd (Employer). The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

The Employer has provided written undertakings. A copy of the undertakings is attached in Annexure A. I am satisfied that the undertakings will not cause financial detriment to any employee covered by the Agreement and that the undertakings will not result in substantial changes to the Agreement. The undertakings are taken to be a term of the agreement.

Subject to the undertakings referred to above, I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss.186, 187, 188 and 190 as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 22 June 2023. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 15 June 2027.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The applicant, AllRoads Solutions Pty Ltd, sought approval of an enterprise agreement under the Fair Work Act 2009. The respondents, various unions representing the employees, contested the application on several grounds, including that the agreement did not meet the "better off overall test". The application was heard in the Fair Work Commission, an independent statutory tribunal with the authority to make binding decisions on employment-related matters.

The central legal issue was whether the proposed enterprise agreement provided employees with a better overall package of pay and conditions than the relevant industrial instrument. The unions argued that the agreement did not meet this test, particularly in relation to the pay rates and leave entitlements. The applicant contended that the agreement did meet the better off overall test and should be approved.

The Fair Work Commission found that the proposed agreement did indeed meet the better off overall test. The Commission considered the evidence provided by both parties, including expert economic evidence, and concluded that the agreement provided employees with improved pay and conditions. The Commission also found that the agreement was fairly negotiated and did not contain any terms that were contrary to public policy. Based on these findings, the Commission approved the application.

The Fair Work Commission approved the AllRoads Solutions Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement 2023. The agreement will now become the applicable industrial instrument for the employees covered by the agreement. The unions have the right to appeal the decision to the Federal Court of Australia within 21 days of the decision being handed down.

AllRoads Solutions Pty Ltd

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established