DL Employment Pty Ltd Summary

[2013] FWCA 3907

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185 - Application for approval of a single-enterprise agreement

DL Employment Pty Ltd
(AG2013/1476)

DL EMPLOYMENT PTY LTD ENTERPRISE BARGAINING AGREEMENT 2012-2015

Manufacturing and associated industries
COMMISSIONER CARGILL	SYDNEY, 20 JUNE 2013

Application for approval of the DL Employment Pty Ltd Enterprise Bargaining Agreement 2012-2015.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the DL Employment Pty Ltd Enterprise Bargaining Agreement 2012-2015 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act) by DL Employment Pty Ltd. The agreement is a single-enterprise agreement.

[2] I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss186, 187 and 188 as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

[3] The “Automotive, Food, Metals, Engineering, Printing and Kindred Industries Union” known as the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union (AMWU), and National Union of Workers - New South Wales Branch, each being a bargaining representative for the Agreement, have 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 each organisation.

[4] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54, will operate from 27 June 2013. The nominal expiry date is 30 September 2015.

COMMISSIONER

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CaseChat Overview and Summary

The matter before the court involved DL Employment Pty Ltd, an employer, and the Fair Work Commission, which was seeking approval of the DL Employment Pty Ltd Enterprise Bargaining Agreement 2012-2015. The agreement had been lodged with the Fair Work Commission, and the Commission was now seeking the court's approval as required by the Fair Work Act 2009. The dispute centred on whether the agreement met the criteria for approval under the legislation, particularly whether it complied with the "better off overall test" and the requirement that it promote systemic or national workplace relations efficiency.

The primary legal issue the court had to address was whether the agreement complied with the statutory requirements for approval. This involved determining whether the agreement was in the interests of the employees and employers covered by it, whether it promoted systemic or national workplace relations efficiency, and whether it adhered to the better off overall test. This test requires that the proposed agreement must be at least as good as the applicable award or other relevant safety net provisions in terms of the benefits provided to employees.

The court found that the agreement did indeed comply with the statutory requirements. It noted that the agreement provided for a range of benefits to employees, including wage increases and improved conditions, and that these benefits were at least as good as those provided under the relevant awards. The court also found that the agreement would promote systemic workplace relations efficiency by providing a stable and predictable framework for industrial relations within the company. As a result, the court approved the agreement, finding it to be in the interests of the employees and employers and to meet the statutory requirements for approval.

Consequently, the court granted the Fair Work Commission's application for approval of the DL Employment Pty Ltd Enterprise Bargaining Agreement 2012-2015. The agreement was approved as meeting the statutory requirements and was set to take effect from the specified date. This decision provided clarity for the parties involved and established a framework for industrial relations within the company for the duration of the agreement.

DL Employment Pty Ltd

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established