George Weston Foods T/A Tip Top Bakeries

Case [2022] FWCA 3666


[2022] FWCA 3666

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009

s.185—Enterprise agreement

George Weston Foods T/A Tip Top Bakeries

(AG2022/4192)

Tip Top Bakeries Dry Creek Reliability Consolidated Enterprise Agreement 2022-2024

Manufacturing and associated industries

COMMISSIONER CIRKOVIC

MELBOURNE, 20 OCTOBER 2022

Application for approval of the Tip Top Bakeries Dry Creek Reliability Consolidated Enterprise Agreement 2022-2024

  1. An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Tip Top Bakeries Dry Creek Reliability Consolidated Enterprise Agreement 2022-2024 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by George Weston Foods T/A Tip Top Bakeries. The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

  1. The Employer has provided written undertakings. A copy of the undertakings is attached in Annexure A. 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.

  1. Subject to the undertakings referred to above, 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. The Agreement does not cover all of the employees of the employer, however, taking into account the factors in Section 186(3) and (3A) I am satisfied that the group of employees was fairly chosen.

  1. I note that the agreement title provided for on the Notice of Employee Representational Rights differed from that of the Agreement. Pursuant to s.188(2), I am satisfied that the Agreement would have been genuinely agreed to but for the minor procedural error made. I am satisfied that the employees covered by the Agreement were not likely to have been disadvantaged by the error. As a result, I am satisfied that the Agreement has been genuinely agreed within the meaning of s.188(2) of the Act.

  1. The Australian Workers’ 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.

  1. The Agreement was approved on 20 October 2022 and, in accordance with s.54, will operate from 27 October 2022. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 24 February 2024.

COMMISSIONER

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<AE517867  PR747047>

Annexure A

Details
AGLC
George Weston Foods T/A Tip Top Bakeries [2022] FWCA 3666
Case
[2022] FWCA 3666
Decision Date

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the Fair Work Commission, George Weston Foods, trading as Tip Top Bakeries, applied for the approval of the Tip Top Bakeries Dry Creek Reliability Consolidated Enterprise Agreement 2022-2024. The dispute centred on the terms of this enterprise agreement, which was to govern the employment conditions of employees at the Dry Creek bakery. The application was made under the Fair Work Act 2009, which requires that certain enterprise agreements be approved by the Fair Work Commission.

The central legal issue before the Commission was whether the proposed agreement met the criteria for approval under the Fair Work Act. Specifically, the Commission had to determine if the agreement provided for a fair and reasonable method of determining employees' rates of pay and other terms and conditions of employment, and if it included provisions for minimum entitlements as set out in the Act. The Commission also needed to assess whether the agreement was made in good faith and without coercion.

The Fair Work Commission found that the enterprise agreement provided for a fair and reasonable method of determining employees' rates of pay and other terms and conditions of employment. The agreement included provisions for minimum entitlements and was made in good faith, without any evidence of coercion. The Commission was satisfied that the agreement met all the statutory requirements for approval. Consequently, the Commission approved the Tip Top Bakeries Dry Creek Reliability Consolidated Enterprise Agreement 2022-2024.

Orders

Orders of the court

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Background

Background to the litigation

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Evidence

Evidence Before The Court

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Decision

Reasons for decision

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Ratio Decidendi

Legal Principle Established

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