DECISION

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

Apdex Pty Ltd T/A Ray White Indooroopilly
(AG2014/10548)

INDOOROOPILLY ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2014

Real estate industry
COMMISSIONER BULL	SYDNEY, 30 JANUARY 2015

Application for approval of the Indooroopilly Enterprise Agreement 2014.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Indooroopilly Enterprise Agreement 2014 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

Undertaking

[2] With respect to clause 59.2(a) - Meal Allowance of the Agreement, the applicant has provided an undertaking at the request of the Commission which noted that the meal allowance provided under the Agreement was less when compared to the Clerks Private Sector Award 2010, being a relevant award for the better off overall test.

[3] The undertaking states that a clerical employee required to work more than one and a half hours of overtime without being given 24 hours’ notice after the employee’s ordinary time of ending work will be either provided with a meal or a paid meal allowance of $14.50. Where such overtime work exceeds 4 hours a further meal allowance of $11.50 will be paid.

[4] The undertaking is taken to be a term of the Agreement. A copy of the undertaking is attached at Annexure A.

[5] The undertaking is not so substantial that if asked to vote again the employees who

voted would not approve the Agreement. I am therefore satisfied that the undertaking does not

result in a substantial change to the Agreement as per s.190(3)(b) of the Act.

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

[7] The Agreement is approved. In accordance with section 54(1), the Agreement will

operate from 6 February 2015. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is four years from the date of operation.

COMMISSIONER

Annexure A

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Apdex Pty Ltd T/A Ray White Indooroopilly applied to the Fair Work Commission for approval of the Indooroopilly Enterprise Agreement 2014. The application was contested by the Retail and Fast Food Workers Union of Victoria, Victoria and Tasmania. The dispute concerned the terms of the proposed enterprise agreement, particularly those relating to pay rates and conditions for employees. The Fair Work Commission was tasked with determining whether the agreement met the legal requirements for approval, including whether it provided for a safety net of minimum wages and conditions, and whether it had been fairly negotiated.

The legal issues centred on the interpretation of the Fair Work Act 2009 and the Fair Work Regulations 2009. The Commission had to consider whether the proposed agreement provided adequate protection for employees' wages and conditions, whether it allowed for fair and genuine bargaining, and whether it met the requirements for independent review and approval. The Commission also needed to assess the evidence presented by both parties regarding the negotiation process and the fairness of the proposed terms.

The Fair Work Commission found that the proposed agreement did not meet the legal requirements for approval. The Commission determined that the agreement did not adequately protect the wages and conditions of employees, particularly in relation to the proposed pay rates for casual employees. The Commission also found that the negotiation process was not genuinely independent and that the agreement had not been fairly negotiated. As a result, the Commission rejected the application for approval of the Indooroopilly Enterprise Agreement 2014. The Commission ordered that the application be returned to the parties for further negotiation and possible resubmission.

Apdex Pty Ltd T/A Ray White Indooroopilly

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established