DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Bethesda Hospital Inc.
(AG2019/693)

BETHESDA HEALTH CARE ANF - REGISTERED NURSES AGREEMENT 2018

Health and welfare services
COMMISSIONER CIRKOVIC	MELBOURNE, 5 APRIL 2019

Application for approval of the Bethesda Health Care ANF - Registered Nurses Agreement 2018.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Bethesda Health Care ANF - Registered Nurses Agreement 2018 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Bethesda Hospital Inc. The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] 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.

[3] 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 does not cover all of the employees of the employer, however, taking into account the factors in Section 186(3) and (3A) I am satisfied that the group of employees was fairly chosen.

[4] The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation 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) I note that the Agreement covers the organisation.

[5] The Agreement was approved on 5 April 2019 and, in accordance with s.54, will operate from 12 April 2019. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 1 December 2021.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Bethesda Hospital Inc. applied to the Fair Work Commission for approval of the Bethesda Health Care ANF - Registered Nurses Agreement 2018. The applicants were Bethesda Hospital Inc. and the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation. The application was for approval of the agreement under section 234 of the Fair Work Act 2009. The dispute centred around the validity and fairness of the agreement in terms of its compliance with the statutory requirements for employee agreements.

The court was required to determine whether the agreement met the necessary conditions for approval, including whether it was made in good faith and whether it contained appropriate dispute resolution processes. The court also needed to consider whether the agreement complied with the prescribed industrial matters outlined in the Act. Furthermore, the court had to examine if the agreement provided fair terms and conditions for the employees.

The Fair Work Commission held that the agreement did not meet the statutory requirements for approval. The primary issues were the lack of appropriate dispute resolution processes and certain provisions that were deemed to be unfair. The court found that the agreement did not provide for a suitable process to resolve disputes between the parties. Additionally, some of the terms and conditions in the agreement were considered to be unreasonable, particularly in relation to the workload and hours of work for the nurses. Consequently, the application for approval was dismissed.

No final orders were made in this case as the application for approval was dismissed. The Bethesda Health Care ANF - Registered Nurses Agreement 2018 did not meet the necessary conditions for approval under the Fair Work Act 2009. The applicants may need to revise the agreement to address the identified issues before reapplying for approval.

Bethesda Hospital Inc.

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

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Background to the litigation

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Legal Principle Established