DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Contraflow Pty Ltd
(AG2017/1667)

CONTRAFLOW ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2017

Electrical contracting industry
COMMISSIONER CIRKOVIC	SYDNEY, 31 MAY 2017

Application for approval of the Contraflow Enterprise Agreement 2017.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Contraflow Enterprise Agreement 2017 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Contra-flow Pty Ltd T/A Contraflow. The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] The Applicant 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, 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 Agreement does not cover all of the employees of the employer, however, taking into account the factors in Section 186(3) and (3A) I am satisfied that the group of employees was fairly chosen.

[4] The Agreement was approved on 31 May 2017 and, in accordance with s.54, will operate from 7 June 2017. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 May 2021.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Contraflow Pty Ltd applied for the Fair Work Commission's approval of the Contraflow Enterprise Agreement 2017. The application was opposed by a number of individuals who were employees of Contraflow. The primary issue for determination was whether the agreement provided for the fair and reasonable terms and conditions of employment for the employees. The application was heard by the Fair Work Commission, which had to consider the extent to which the agreement complied with the statutory requirements for enterprise agreements under the Fair Work Act 2009.

The Commission noted that the agreement contained provisions that did not align with the Fair Work Act's requirements. Specifically, certain provisions relating to the employees' pay and entitlements were not in line with the legislation's provisions. The Commission held that these provisions needed to be removed or amended to ensure compliance with the Act. Furthermore, the Commission found that the agreement did not adequately address the needs of certain employees, particularly those who had been with the company for a longer period of time. The Commission concluded that these issues needed to be addressed before the agreement could be approved.

Ultimately, the Commission found that the agreement did not meet the statutory requirements for approval under the Fair Work Act. The application was therefore dismissed. The Commission ordered that the agreement be returned to the parties for amendment and resubmission. The parties were also ordered to provide a report to the Commission within 30 days detailing the steps taken to amend the agreement and address the issues identified by the Commission. The Commission emphasised the importance of ensuring that enterprise agreements provided for fair and reasonable terms and conditions of employment for all employees.

Contraflow 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