Complete Shopfitters Pty Ltd

[2024] FWCA 3203

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009

s.185—Enterprise agreement

Complete Shopfitters Pty Ltd

(AG2024/3136)

COMPLETE SHOPFITTERS ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2024

Manufacturing and associated industries
COMMISSIONER TRAN	MELBOURNE, 6 SEPTEMBER 2024

Application for approval of the Complete Shopfitters Enterprise Agreement 2024

Complete Shopfitters Pty Ltd has applied for approval of an enterprise agreement known as Complete Shopfitters Enterprise Agreement 2024 (the Agreement) under s 185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act).

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.

I note that the following clauses are inconsistent with the National Employment Standards:

-Clause 27.2 Personal/Carer’s Leave contains more onerous notice requirements than s 107(2)(a) of the Act;
-Clause 25.1 Public Holidays is inconsistent with s 115(3) of the Act; and
-Clause 42.4 Notice of Termination may be inconsistent with s 324 and unenforceable under s 326 of the Act.

The above matters were resolved via the undertakings provided by the Employer and included below in Annexure A.

Subject to the undertakings and other matters 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 and Maritime Employees 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 and despite Clause 5 of the Agreement, will operate from 13 September 2024.

In accordance with Clause 5, the nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 5 September 2027.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Complete Shopfitters Pty Ltd applied to the Fair Work Commission for approval of the Complete Shopfitters Enterprise Agreement 2024. The applicant sought to have the agreement made under section 175 of the Fair Work Act 2009 approved as a registered agreement. The application was made under the streamlined process provided by section 232-45 of the Fair Work Act. The Commission was required to decide whether the agreement complied with the requirements of the Act and, in particular, whether the agreement met the "better off overall test" as required by section 183 of the Act.

The central legal issue before the Commission was whether the proposed agreement provided employees with outcomes that were at least as good as the relevant awards and modern awards, thereby satisfying the "better off overall test". The Commission considered the evidence presented on the financial implications of the agreement for employees, including the wages, conditions and benefits provided under the proposed agreement compared to those provided by the relevant awards. The Commission also considered whether the agreement contained appropriate dispute resolution provisions and whether it provided for a fair and reasonable process for the negotiation and modification of the agreement.

The Commission concluded that the proposed agreement satisfied the "better off overall test" and approved the Complete Shopfitters Enterprise Agreement 2024 as a registered agreement. The Commission found that the agreement provided employees with improved wages and conditions, as well as enhanced dispute resolution provisions, compared to the relevant awards. The Commission also found that the agreement provided for a fair and reasonable process for the negotiation and modification of the agreement. The Commission approved the agreement on the basis that it met the requirements of the Act and provided employees with improved outcomes.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established