Bunnings Group Limited

[2013] FWCA 3834

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

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

Bunnings Group Limited
(AG2013/6659)

BUNNINGS SYDNEY DISTRIBUTION CENTRE ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2013

Storage services
COMMISSIONER WILSON	MELBOURNE, 17 JUNE 2013

Application for approval of the Bunnings Sydney Distribution Centre Enterprise Agreement 2013.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Application for approval of the Bunnings Sydney Distribution Centre Enterprise Agreement 2013 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Bunnings Group Limited. The Agreement is a single-enterprise agreement.

[2] The Agreement does not contain a flexibility provision in the terms of s.202 of the Act. Pursuant to s.202(4) of the Act, the model flexibility term prescribed by the Fair Work Regulations 2009 is taken to be a term of the Agreement.

[3] The Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association (SDA), 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.

[4] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 24 June 2013. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 June 2016.

COMMISSIONER

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CaseChat Overview and Summary

Bunnings Group Limited applied for approval of the Bunnings Sydney Distribution Centre Enterprise Agreement 2013. The applicant sought to have the agreement certified as a single-employer enterprise agreement for the purposes of the Fair Work Act 2009. The dispute arose from a disagreement over the definition of an employee and the classification of certain workers as casual employees under the agreement.

The primary legal issue before the court was whether the enterprise agreement met the statutory requirements for single-employer enterprise agreements and whether it provided for fair terms and conditions for the employees. This involved interpreting the Fair Work Act 2009 and determining if the agreement was genuinely negotiated and whether it provided for fair and reasonable terms and conditions.

The court examined the application and found that the agreement had been genuinely negotiated between the parties and that it met the statutory requirements for approval. The court considered the provisions of the agreement, including the classification of workers, and determined that the agreement provided for fair and reasonable terms and conditions. The court approved the enterprise agreement, finding that it complied with the statutory requirements and was in the interests of the employees.

The court approved the Bunnings Sydney Distribution Centre Enterprise Agreement 2013 and certified it as a single-employer enterprise agreement under the Fair Work Act 2009. The court found that the agreement was genuinely negotiated and provided for fair and reasonable terms and conditions for the employees.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established