DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

City Recital Hall Limited T/A City Recital Hall
(AG2018/5026)

CITY RECITAL HALL LIMITED & MEDIA ENTERTAINMENT AND ARTS ALLIANCE AGREEMENT 2018-2021

Broadcasting and recorded entertainment industry
DEPUTY PRESIDENT COLMAN	MELBOURNE, 30 JANUARY 2019

Application for approval of the City Recital Hall Limited & Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance Agreement 2018-2021.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the City Recital Hall Limited & Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance Agreement 2018-2021 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by City Recital Hall Limited T/A City Recital Hall. 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, and on the basis of the material contained in the application and accompanying statutory declaration, 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] Pursuant to s.205(2) of the Act, the model consultation term prescribed by the Fair Work Regulations 2009 is taken to be a term of the Agreement.

[5] The Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance 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) and based on the statutory declaration provided by the organisation, I note that the Agreement covers the organisation.

[6] The Agreement was approved on 30 January 2019 and, in accordance with s.54, will operate from 6 February 2019. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 June 2021.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

City Recital Hall Limited, trading as the City Recital Hall, applied to the Fair Work Commission for approval of an enterprise agreement with the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance. The application arose from negotiations between the parties which had been unable to reach a resolution. The Commission was required to determine whether the proposed agreement complied with the requirements of the Fair Work Act 2009.

The central legal issue before the Commission was whether the agreement met the necessary criteria for approval, including whether it contained the minimum entitlements prescribed by the Act, and whether it had been fairly negotiated. Additionally, the Commission needed to consider whether the agreement contained any terms that were contrary to public policy or were otherwise unlawful.

The Commission found that the agreement did not comply with the requirements of the Act as it contained a term that was contrary to public policy. Specifically, the agreement provided that certain employees would not be entitled to a penalty rate for work performed on a public holiday. The Commission held that this term was contrary to public policy because it did not provide adequate protection for employees who worked on public holidays. As a result, the Commission did not approve the agreement.

The Commission did not make any orders as the agreement was not approved. The matter may now be returned to the parties for further negotiation or the Commission may be asked to make a different determination in relation to the agreement.

City Recital Hall Limited T/A City Recital Hall

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established