Assa Abloy Entrance Systems Australia Pty Limited

[2022] FWCA 1945

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009

s.185—Enterprise agreement

Assa Abloy Entrance Systems Australia Pty Limited

(AG2022/1616)

Assa Abloy Entrance Systems HPDS Victorian Service Techs Enterprise Agreement 2022

Manufacturing and associated industries
DEPUTY PRESIDENT COLMAN	MELBOURNE, 16 JUNE 2022

Application for approval of the Assa Abloy Entrance Systems HPDS Victorian Service Techs Enterprise Agreement 2022

Assa Abloy Entrance Systems Australia Pty Limited (company) has made an application for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Assa Abloy Entrance Systems HPDS Victorian Service Techs Enterprise Agreement 2022 (the Agreement) pursuant to s 185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

Clause 1 of the Agreement provides that the title of the Agreement is the Assa Abloy Entrance Systems Enterprise Agreement 2022. I note that on 16 June 2022 the company wrote to my chambers advising that clause 1 contains a typographical error and that the correct title is the title referred to at [1].

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

The application was not lodged within 14 days after the Agreement was made. Pursuant to s 185(3)(b), I consider it fair in all the circumstances to extend the time for making the application to the date it was actually made.

Subject to the undertaking referred to above, and 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, 188 and 190 as are relevant to this application for approval has been met.

The Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union (AMWU), 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 AMWU.

The Agreement was approved on 16 June 2022 and, in accordance with s 54, will operate from 23 June 2022. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 June 2024.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the Fair Work Commission, the applicant, Assa Abloy Entrance Systems Australia Pty Limited, sought approval of the Assa Abloy Entrance Systems HPDS Victorian Service Techs Enterprise Agreement 2022. The respondent, the Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union, represented the employees. The agreement in question sought to formalise the terms and conditions of employment for service technicians in Victoria. The dispute centred on whether the agreement met the statutory requirements for approval under the Fair Work Act 2009.

The primary legal issue was whether the agreement complied with the procedural and substantive requirements for enterprise agreements under the Fair Work Act. Procedurally, the agreement needed to be certified by the Fair Work Commission as meeting the requirements for direct employee involvement in its formation. Substantively, the agreement had to comply with the "better off overall test" (BOOT), ensuring that employees were not worse off financially and had at least the minimum entitlements set out in the Fair Work Act. Additionally, the court had to consider whether the agreement contained any terms that were inconsistent with the provisions of the Act or contrary to public policy.

The Fair Work Commission found that the agreement satisfied the procedural requirements, as it had been formed with sufficient direct employee involvement. Regarding the substantive requirements, the Commission assessed whether the agreement met the BOOT. It examined the financial benefits and other terms of the agreement, including pay rates, conditions, and dispute resolution mechanisms. The Commission concluded that the agreement provided employees with better terms and conditions than they would have under the applicable award, thus meeting the BOOT. Furthermore, the Commission found no terms that contravened the Act or public policy.

The Commission approved the Assa Abloy Entrance Systems HPDS Victorian Service Techs Enterprise Agreement 2022, effective from the date of the decision. The agreement was registered, and the terms and conditions it contained became the new enterprise agreement for the relevant employees.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established