Brockfield Enterprises Pty Ltd and Ors

The respondents, Brockfield Enterprises Pty Ltd and others, applied for the approval of the Bos and Brockfield Enterprise Agreement 2012. The applicants opposed the application on the basis that the agreement did not meet the better off overall test. The dispute was heard in the Fair Work Commission. The primary legal issue was whether the agreement met the better off overall test. The test requires that the employees be no worse off and at least some employees be better off as a result of the agreement. A secondary issue was whether the principles established in previous case law regarding the application of the BOOT in agreements with voluntary additional hours clauses should be followed. The court found that the principles of BOOT in the context of voluntary additional hours clauses were well settled in case law. The applicants did not provide any submissions that would warrant a departure from the settled principles. Therefore, the court applied the principles as established in the case law and found that the agreement did not meet the BOOT. The application for approval of the agreement was refused.