Compass Group (Australia) Pty Ltd Summary

[2022] FWCA 672

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009

s.185—Enterprise agreement

Compass Group (Australia) Pty Ltd

(AG2022/188)

Compass Group (Australia) Pty Ltd and MUA Offshore Oil and GasEnterprise Agreement 2022

Hospitality industry
COMMISSIONER WILSON	MELBOURNE, 24 FEBRUARY 2022

Application for approval of the Compass Group (Australia) Pty Ltd and MUA Offshore Oil and Gas Enterprise Agreement 2022

An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Compass Group (Australia) Pty Ltd and MUA Offshore Oil and Gas Enterprise Agreement 2022 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Compass Group (Australia) Pty Ltd. The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

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.

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.

The Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union 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.

The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 3 March 2022. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 10 October 2022.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the Fair Work Commission, Compass Group (Australia) Pty Ltd applied for the approval of the Compass Group (Australia) Pty Ltd and MUA Offshore Oil and Gas Enterprise Agreement 2022. The dispute arose as the applicant sought to have the agreement approved under the Fair Work Act 2009. The Maritime Union of Australia was the respondent to the application.

The central legal issue before the Commission was whether the agreement met the requirements for approval under the Fair Work Act. Specifically, the Commission needed to consider whether the agreement was a "single interest employer agreement" and whether it had been made in good faith and without coercion. The Commission also needed to assess whether the agreement contained terms that were consistent with the National Employment Standards and other relevant awards and agreements.

The Commission found that the agreement was a single interest employer agreement as it was made between an employer and its employees within a single enterprise. The Commission concluded that the agreement had been made in good faith and without coercion, and that it contained terms that were consistent with the National Employment Standards and other relevant awards and agreements. The Commission was satisfied that the agreement provided for appropriate mechanisms for the resolution of disputes and provided for the protection of employees' rights. Accordingly, the Commission approved the agreement.

The Fair Work Commission approved the Compass Group (Australia) Pty Ltd and MUA Offshore Oil and Gas Enterprise Agreement 2022. The Commission found that the agreement met the requirements for approval under the Fair Work Act and was a genuine enterprise agreement that provided for appropriate mechanisms for the resolution of disputes and the protection of employees' rights.

Compass Group (Australia) Pty Ltd

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established