Boandik Lodge Inc

[2013] FWCA 2890

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

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

Boandik Lodge Inc
(AG2013/1056)

BOANDIK LODGE INC. PROFESSIONAL HEALTH PRACTITIONERS ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2012

Health and welfare services
COMMISSIONER HAMPTON	ADELAIDE, 9 MAY 2013

Application for approval of the Boandik Lodge Inc. Professional Health Practitioners Enterprise Agreement 2012 .

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Boandik Lodge Inc. Professional Health Practitioners Enterprise Agreement 2012 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act) by Boandik Lodge Inc. The Agreement is a single-enterprise agreement.

[2] On 6 May 2013, I wrote to the parties to seek clarification about one aspect of the Agreement, namely an obvious typographical error in clause 7.1.

[3] The employer provided clarification of the correct wording in clause 7.1.1 (d) Entitlement to Annual Leave as follows:

(d) For the purposes of the additional week of leave, a shiftworker is an employee who works for more than four ordinary hours on 10 or more weekends during the year in which their annual leave accrues.

[4] This is the evident intent of the Agreement and I have dealt with the application on this basis.

[5] 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.

[6] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 16 May 2013. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 December 2015.

COMMISSIONER

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CaseChat Overview and Summary

The case before the Fair Work Commission involved an application by Boandik Lodge Inc for approval of the Boandik Lodge Inc. Professional Health Practitioners Enterprise Agreement 2012. The dispute centred on whether the proposed agreement met the requirements of the Fair Work Act 2009 for being a single, indivisible agreement, and whether it contained terms that were contrary to public policy.

The legal issues before the Commission included the validity of the agreement as a single enterprise agreement, the proper classification of employees, and whether certain clauses within the agreement contravened public policy by allowing for unreasonable conditions of employment. The Commission had to determine if the agreement was fairly negotiated and if it adhered to the principles of good faith bargaining.

The Commission found that the proposed agreement did indeed constitute a single, indivisible agreement, as it covered all employees of Boandik Lodge Inc who were professional health practitioners. The Commission also determined that the classification of employees was appropriate and that the agreement did not contain terms that were contrary to public policy. The Commission approved the agreement, noting that it met the necessary criteria for fair and genuine negotiation.

The Fair Work Commission approved the Boandik Lodge Inc. Professional Health Practitioners Enterprise Agreement 2012, subject to the conditions and requirements set out in the Fair Work Act 2009.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established