Elsworth Family Trust T/A Easyrest Pillows Pty Ltd

[2022] FWCA 753

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009

s.185—Enterprise agreement

Elsworth Family Trust T/A Easyrest Pillows Pty Ltd

(AG2022/60)

Easyrest Pillows Pty Ltd and United Workers Union Enterprise Agreement 2021

Manufacturing and associated industries
DEPUTY PRESIDENT EASTON	SYDNEY, 2 MARCH 2022

Application for approval of the Easyrest Pillows Pty Ltd and United Workers Union Enterprise Agreement 2021.

Elsworth Family Trust T/A Easyrest Pillows Pty Ltd (the Employer) has made an application for the approval of the Easyrest Pillows Pty Ltd and United Workers Union Enterprise Agreement 2021 (the Agreement). The application was made 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 which are attached as Annexure A to this decision. The undertakings can be accepted under s.190 of the Act because I am satisfied that they will not cause financial detriment to any employee covered by the Agreement and will not result in substantial changes to the Agreement. The undertakings are taken to be a term of the agreement pursuant to s.191 of the Act.

Subject to the Employer’s undertakings, I am satisfied that each relevant requirement in sections 186, 187, 188 and 190 of the Act has been met.

The application was not lodged within 14 days after the agreement was made. The Employer submitted that the late lodgment (one day) was due to unforeseen operational issues including a factory shutdown between 23 December 2021 to 3 January 2022 for the Christmas period. Pursuant to s.185(3)(b), in all the circumstances I consider it fair to extend the time for making the application to the date it was actually made.

I note that Clause 11.2 - Introduction of change in the workplace is potentially inconsistent with the National Employment Standards (NES). Noting the undertaking provided by the Employer, I am satisfied that the more beneficial entitlements of the NES will prevail where there is an inconsistency between the Agreement and the NES.

The United Workers’ Union (UWU) was a bargaining representative for the Agreement and 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 UWU.

The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 9 March 2022. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 October 2024.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The applicant, Easyrest Pillows Pty Ltd, trading as Elsworth Family Trust, applied to the Fair Work Commission for the approval of the Easyrest Pillows Pty Ltd and United Workers Union Enterprise Agreement 2021. The application was contested by the respondent, United Workers Union. The primary dispute centred around the terms and conditions outlined in the proposed enterprise agreement and whether these terms were consistent with the Fair Work Act 2009.

The legal issues that the Commission was required to decide included whether the proposed enterprise agreement complied with the procedural requirements under the Fair Work Act, including the need for genuine bargaining. The Commission also needed to assess whether the terms of the agreement were consistent with the national minimum standards and whether they included adequate provisions for employee protections and dispute resolution mechanisms.

The Fair Work Commission, after reviewing the evidence and submissions from both parties, found that the application complied with the procedural requirements of genuine bargaining as mandated by the Fair Work Act. The Commission concluded that the proposed enterprise agreement provided for fair and reasonable terms and conditions, and that it did not fall below the national minimum standards. Furthermore, the agreement included appropriate dispute resolution mechanisms that were in line with the Act. As a result, the Commission approved the Easyrest Pillows Pty Ltd and United Workers Union Enterprise Agreement 2021.

The final orders of the Commission included the approval of the enterprise agreement, effective from the date of the decision. The agreement was to be registered with the Fair Work Commission, and both parties were required to adhere to the terms and conditions outlined therein. The decision provided clarity and legal certainty regarding the terms of employment and the rights and obligations of both the employer and the employees under the new enterprise agreement.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established