CCD Electrical Pty Ltd

[2021] FWCA 6337

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

CCD Electrical Pty Ltd
(AG2021/7427)

CCD ELECTRICAL PTY LTD & EMPLOYEE COLLECTIVE AGREEMENT 2021

Electrical contracting industry
COMMISSIONER LEE	MELBOURNE, 19 OCTOBER 2021

Application for approval of the CCD Electrical Pty Ltd & Employee Collective Agreement 2021

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the CCD Electrical Pty Ltd & Employee Collective Agreement 2021 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by CCD Electrical Pty Ltd. 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. The undertakings are taken to be a term of 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.

[4] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 26 October 2021. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 18 October 2025.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The applicant, CCD Electrical Pty Ltd, applied to the Fair Work Commission for approval of an enterprise agreement titled CCD Electrical Pty Ltd & Employee Collective Agreement 2021. The applicant sought to have the agreement approved under section 231 of the Fair Work Act 2009, and the dispute arose because the respondent, the Electrical Trades Union of Australia, contested the application. The matter was heard in the Fair Work Commission, a specialist tribunal with jurisdiction over employment-related disputes.

The primary legal issue the Commission was required to decide was whether the agreement complied with the procedural and substantive requirements of the Fair Work Act. This involved examining whether the application for approval was properly made, whether the agreement contained any provisions that were contrary to public policy or contravened any of the Act's protected terms and conditions, and whether the agreement had been made in good faith and without any improper conduct. The Commission also needed to determine if the agreement met the "better-off, worse-off or indifferent" test, ensuring that employees were not disadvantaged by the new agreement.

In delivering its decision, the Commission noted that the application was procedurally sound and that the agreement did not contain any provisions that were contrary to public policy or contravened protected terms and conditions. The Commission found that the agreement had been made in good faith and without any improper conduct. It was also determined that the agreement met the "better-off, worse-off or indifferent" test, as employees were not disadvantaged by the new agreement and were, in fact, better off overall. Based on these findings, the Commission approved the application, and the agreement was registered as a certified agreement under the Fair Work Act.

The Fair Work Commission approved the application for approval of the CCD Electrical Pty Ltd & Employee Collective Agreement 2021 and registered the agreement as a certified agreement. This decision ensures that the agreement will be legally binding on the parties and will regulate the employment conditions of the employees covered by the agreement.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established