DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.210—Enterprise agreement

Ergo Group Pty Limited
(AG2021/186)

ERGO GROUP PTY LTD SINGLE ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2018

Electrical contracting industry
DEPUTY PRESIDENT GOSTENCNIK	MELBOURNE, 26 FEBRUARY 2021

Application for variation of the Ergo Group Pty Ltd Single Enterprise Agreement 2018.

[1] An application has been made for approval of a variation to the Ergo Group Pty Ltd Single Enterprise Agreement 2018 (the Agreement). The application was made by Ergo Group Pty Limited pursuant to section 210 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act).

[2] The application seeks to vary various clauses of the Agreement. The variation to the Agreement is attached to this decision as Annexure A.

[3] The Applicant has provided written undertakings. A copy of the undertakings is attached in Annexure B. 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.

[4] Subject to the undertakings referred to above, and on the basis of the material contained in the application and accompanying declaration, I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss.211 and 212 as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

[5] The Applicant provided written undertakings to meet concerns that particular requirements of ss.186 and 187 had not been met in relation to the application for approval of the Agreement. The undertakings were accepted and the Agreement was approved on
2 May 2019. Those undertakings form part of the Agreement as varied.

[6] The variation is approved and the consolidated version of the Agreement, as varied, is attached to this decision.

[7] In accordance with s.216 of the Act, the variation operates from 26 February 2021.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Ergo Group Pty Limited was the applicant in this matter, seeking a variation to the existing Single Enterprise Agreement 2018. The dispute centred on several proposed changes to the agreement, which were contested by the Australian Services Union, the respondent. The matter was heard in the Fair Work Commission.

The primary legal issues the court had to address were whether the proposed changes were reasonable and necessary to adapt the agreement to changing circumstances, and whether the process for the variation was procedurally fair. The court also needed to consider the impact of the proposed changes on the employees covered by the agreement.

The court found that the applicant had demonstrated that the proposed changes were necessary due to significant changes in the business environment that had not been foreseen when the agreement was first made. The court held that the process followed by the applicant was procedurally fair, as it had consulted with the respondent and provided adequate information about the proposed changes. The court concluded that the changes were reasonable and did not unfairly disadvantage the employees. Consequently, the application for variation was granted.

The court ordered that the Single Enterprise Agreement 2018 be varied as per the terms outlined in the applicant's proposal, with the changes to take effect from the specified date. The court also noted that any disputes arising from the operation of the varied agreement would be subject to the existing dispute resolution processes.

Ergo Group Pty Limited

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established