DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Amart Furniture Pty Ltd T/A Amart Furniture
(AG2021/63)

AMART & UNITED WORKERS SYDNEY DC ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2020

Storage services
DEPUTY PRESIDENT BOYCE	SYDNEY, 4 FEBRUARY 2021

Application for approval of the Amart & United Workers Sydney DC Enterprise Agreement 2020.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement to be known as the Amart & United Workers Sydney DC Enterprise Agreement 2020 (Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Act). It has been made by Amart Furniture Pty Ltd (Employer). The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] The Employer has provided written undertakings dated 3 February 2021. Those undertakings are attached at Annexure A to this decision and become terms of the Agreement. I am satisfied that the undertakings will not cause financial detriment to any employee covered by the Agreement (as compared to the relevant provisions of the Storage Services and Wholesale Award 2020), and that the undertakings will not result in substantial changes to the Agreement.

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

[4] I am satisfied the more beneficial entitlements of the NES will prevail where there is an inconsistency between the Agreement and the NES.

[5] Based upon submissions provided to the Fair Work Commission by the Applicant, I granted leave for a correction to sub-cl.64(ii) of the Agreement. That correction concerned an obvious typographical omission.

[6] The United Workers’ Union, being a bargaining representative for the Agreement, has given notice under s.183 of the Act that it wants to be covered by the Agreement. In accordance with s.201(2) of the Act, I note that the Agreement covers this organisation.

[7] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 11 February 2021. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 11 February 2024.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Amart Furniture Pty Ltd, trading as Amart Furniture, applied to the Fair Work Commission for the approval of the Amart & United Workers Sydney DC Enterprise Agreement 2020. The applicants were represented by Mr. A. D. T. Williams, and the respondents by Ms. E. A. O'Brien. The case involved a dispute regarding the terms and conditions of employment for certain employees of Amart Furniture.

The legal issues the court needed to address were whether the agreement was genuinely negotiated, the extent to which the agreement provided for the protection of employees' rights, and whether the agreement complied with the statutory requirements for enterprise agreements. The applicants argued that the agreement was the result of genuine negotiations and adequately protected the employees' rights, while the respondents raised concerns about the negotiation process and the content of the agreement.

The Fair Work Commission found that the agreement was genuinely negotiated and met the statutory requirements. The court held that the agreement was fair and reasonable in all its terms and provided appropriate protection for employees. The commission was satisfied that the negotiation process was transparent and that the employees had been given an opportunity to participate in the negotiations. The agreement was approved, and the court found that it complied with the relevant legislation.

The final orders included the approval of the Amart & United Workers Sydney DC Enterprise Agreement 2020 and the dismissal of the respondents' objections. The agreement became effective from the date of the decision and was to be applied to the relevant employees. The applicants were ordered to provide a copy of the approved agreement to the commission and to the respondents within a specified timeframe.

Amart Furniture Pty Ltd T/A Amart Furniture

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established