DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Connect People Pty Ltd
(AG2020/3547)

CONNECT PEOPLE MELBOURNE WATER CAPITAL WORKS PROGRAM ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2020 - 2024

Building, metal and civil construction industries
COMMISSIONER WILSON	MELBOURNE, 17 DECEMBER 2020

Application for approval of the Connect People Melbourne Water Capital Works Program Enterprise Agreement 2020 - 2024.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Connect People Melbourne Water Capital Works Program Enterprise Agreement 2020 - 2024 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Connect People 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 24 December 2020. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 1 March 2024.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The matter before the Australian Industrial Relations Commission involved an application for approval of the Connect People Melbourne Water Capital Works Program Enterprise Agreement 2020 - 2024. The applicant, Connect People, sought the Commission's approval of the proposed enterprise agreement between the employer and its employees. The dispute centred on whether the agreement met the necessary criteria for approval under the Fair Work Act 2009.

The central legal issues before the Commission were whether the agreement had been negotiated in good faith, was free from coercion and undue influence, and whether it complied with the "better off overall test" as required by section 234 of the Fair Work Act. The Commission was required to assess if the agreement provided employees with a better overall package of pay and conditions than the applicable award or safety net awards. Additionally, the Commission needed to determine if the agreement contained all the necessary terms and conditions of employment as mandated by the Act.

In its decision, the Commission determined that the agreement had been negotiated in good faith and was free from coercion and undue influence. The Commission found that the proposed agreement met the better off overall test, as employees would receive a package of pay and conditions that was at least as good as, and in some cases better than, what they would receive under the applicable award. The Commission also confirmed that the agreement contained all the necessary terms and conditions of employment as required by the Fair Work Act. Consequently, the Commission approved the Connect People Melbourne Water Capital Works Program Enterprise Agreement 2020 - 2024, with the approval being effective from the date of the decision.

The final orders of the Commission included the approval of the enterprise agreement, with the agreement to be registered with the Fair Work Commission and to apply to the employees covered by the agreement. The approval was subject to the terms and conditions set out in the agreement and was to remain in effect until such time as it was terminated, varied or replaced by a new agreement.

Connect People Pty Ltd

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established