DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Firmins Lane Engineering Pty Ltd
(AG2021/5905)

FIRMINS LANE ENGINEERING PTY. LTD MORWELL WORKPLACE AGREEMENT 2021-2024

Building, metal and civil construction industries
DEPUTY PRESIDENT YOUNG	MELBOURNE, 19 JULY 2021

Application for approval of the Firmins Lane Engineering Pty. Ltd MORWELL Workplace Agreement 2021-2024.

[1] Firmins Lane Engineering Pty Ltd (the Employer) has made an application for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Firmins Lane Engineering Pty. Ltd MORWELL Workplace Agreement 2021-2024 (the Agreement) pursuant to s 185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). The Agreement is a single-enterprise agreement.

[2] The Notice of Employee Representational Rights provided to employees was not in the prescribed form. The Employer provided submissions as to this error on 9 July 2021 and 14 July 2021. I am satisfied having regard to those submissions and the Full Bench decision in Huntsman Chemical Company Australia Pty Ltd T/A RMAX Rigid Cellular Plastics & Others 1 (Huntsman)that this constitutes a minor technical or procedural error for the purposes s 188(2)(a) of Act. Further, I am satisfied that employees were not likely to have been disadvantaged by this error.

[3] Accordingly, notwithstanding the matters identified in paragraph 2 above, I am satisfied that the Agreement has been genuinely agreed within the meaning of s 188(2).

[4] The Employer has provided written undertakings. A copy of the undertakings is attached at Annexure A. I am satisfied that the undertakings will not cause financial detriment to any employee covered by the Agreement and the undertakings will not result in substantial changes to the Agreement. The undertakings are taken to be a term of the Agreement.

[5] Subject to the undertakings referred to above, and on the basis of the material contained in the application, and the accompanying statutory declaration and the additional information provided by the Employer, 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.

[6] The Agreement was approved on 19 July 2021 and, in accordance with s 54, will operate from 26 July 2021. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 June 2024.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Annexure A

1 [2019] FWCFB 318

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

<AE512302 PR731809

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Firmins Lane Engineering Pty Ltd recently sought approval from the Fair Work Commission of a workplace agreement that had been made between the company and its employees. The nature of the dispute revolved around whether the proposed agreement met the necessary requirements under the Fair Work Act 2009 and if it was made in good faith and without coercion. The case was heard by the Fair Work Commission, which is tasked with overseeing workplace agreements and resolving disputes concerning the application of the Fair Work Act.

The central legal issues before the Commission were whether the agreement had been made in good faith and without coercion, and whether it contained terms that complied with the Fair Work Act. The applicant needed to demonstrate that the agreement was made without any form of pressure or undue influence being exerted on the employees. Additionally, the Commission needed to ensure that the terms of the agreement did not contravene any provisions of the Fair Work Act, particularly those that relate to minimum entitlements and conditions of employment.

In delivering its decision, the Commission examined the process by which the agreement was made and the content of the agreement itself. The Commission found that the process was conducted in a manner that was free from any undue pressure or coercion. Furthermore, the terms of the agreement were assessed against the Fair Work Act, and it was determined that they did not include any provisions that were contrary to the Act. Consequently, the Commission approved the agreement, finding that it had been made in good faith and without coercion, and that it complied with the requirements of the Fair Work Act. The approval of the agreement means that it will now be binding on the parties involved.

Firmins Lane Engineering Pty Ltd

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

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Background to the litigation

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Legal Principle Established