DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Epic Employment Service Inc. T/A Epic Assist
(AG2019/2840)

EPIC EMPLOYMENT SERVICE INC ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2018

Social, community, home care and disability services
COMMISSIONER MCKINNON	MELBOURNE, 9 DECEMBER 2019

Application for approval of the EPIC Employment Service Inc Enterprise Agreement 2018.

[1] Epic Employment Service Inc. T/A Epic Assist has applied for approval of a single enterprise agreement known as the EPIC Employment Service Inc Enterprise Agreement 2018.

[2] On 29 November 2019, I issued a Decision 1 in relation to the application. Further submissions have since been received and I accept the submission of Epic Assist that no further undertakings in relation to the Agreement are required.

[3] An undertaking has been given in accordance with s.190 of the Act. A copy of the undertaking is attached in Annexure A. I am satisfied that the effect of accepting the undertaking is not likely to cause financial detriment to any employee covered by the Agreement or result in substantial changes to the Agreement. The undertaking is taken to be a term of the agreement.

[4] With the undertaking, 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.

[5] The Australian Municipal, Administrative, Clerical and Services 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.

[6] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 16 December 2019. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 8 December 2023.

COMMISSIONER

1 [2019] FWC 8142.

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The parties involved in the case were Epic Employment Service Inc, trading as Epic Assist, and the relevant employees. The dispute centred on the application for approval of the EPIC Employment Service Inc Enterprise Agreement 2018. The matter was heard in the Fair Work Commission, an Australian independent statutory tribunal with jurisdiction over employment-related matters. The Commission was tasked with determining whether the proposed agreement met the requirements of the Fair Work Act 2009.

The legal issues that the Commission needed to decide included whether the agreement had been genuinely negotiated between the employer and the employees, whether it met the minimum standards set by the Act, and if it complied with the requirements for the approval of enterprise agreements. Additionally, the Commission had to consider whether the agreement was in the best interests of the employees and whether it provided for fair and reasonable terms and conditions of employment.

In its decision, the Commission found that the agreement had been genuinely negotiated between the parties and met the minimum standards prescribed by the Act. The Commission also determined that the agreement was in the best interests of the employees and provided for fair and reasonable terms and conditions of employment. Consequently, the Commission approved the EPIC Employment Service Inc Enterprise Agreement 2018. The Commission's reasoning was based on the evidence presented by both parties, which demonstrated that the agreement had been negotiated in good faith and contained terms and conditions that were fair and reasonable.

Epic Employment Service Inc. T/A Epic Assist

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established