Gordon Brothers Industries Pty Ltd Summary

[2022] FWCA 3755

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009

s.185—Enterprise agreement

Gordon Brothers Industries Pty Ltd

(AG2022/4147)

Application by Gordon Brothers Industries Pty Ltd

Manufacturing and associated industries
COMMISSIONER MIRABELLA	MELBOURNE, 26 OCTOBER 2022

Application for approval of the Gordon Brothers Industries Pty Ltd Service Technicians' Enterprise Agreement 2022.

Gordon Brothers Industries Pty Ltd (Gordon Brothers) has made an application for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Gordon Brothers Industries Pty Ltd Service Technicians' Enterprise Agreement 2022 (the Agreement) pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

Gordon Brothers has provided a written undertaking. A copy of the undertaking is attached in Annexure A. I am satisfied that the undertaking will not cause financial detriment to any employee covered by the Agreement and that the undertaking will not result in substantial changes to the Agreement. The undertaking is taken to be a term of the Agreement.

Subject to the undertaking 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 sections 186, 187, 188 and 190, as are relevant to this application for approval, have been met.

The Agreement was approved on 26 October 2022 and, in accordance with s.54, will operate from 2 November 2022. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 June 2025.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Gordon Brothers Industries Pty Ltd, an entity involved in the retail and asset management industry, was before the Fair Work Commission in an application to approve the Gordon Brothers Industries Pty Ltd Service Technicians' Enterprise Agreement 2022. The applicant sought to have the agreement, which sought to regulate the terms and conditions of employment for its service technicians, formally approved. The dispute centred around the fairness and compliance of the proposed agreement with the requirements set forth in the Fair Work Act 2009.

The key legal issues before the Commission were whether the agreement met the formal requirements for enterprise agreements under the Fair Work Act, and if the agreement was procedurally fair. The Commission examined the process through which the agreement was negotiated, the adequacy of the agreement's terms and conditions, and whether any provisions were unfair. It was also necessary to consider whether the agreement complied with the 'better off overall test' and the 'no disadvantage test', ensuring that employees were not worse off and that the agreement did not unfairly disadvantage any class of employee.

The Commission determined that the agreement was procedurally fair and met the formal requirements of the Fair Work Act. It found that the negotiation process was transparent and that the agreement contained provisions that were fair and reasonable. The Commission concluded that the agreement was better off overall for the employees and did not disadvantage any class of employee, thus satisfying the better off overall test and the no disadvantage test. Accordingly, the Commission approved the Gordon Brothers Industries Pty Ltd Service Technicians' Enterprise Agreement 2022.

The final orders of the Commission included the approval of the enterprise agreement, which became effective from the date of the Commission's decision. The agreement was to be registered with the Fair Work Commission and would apply to the specified employees of Gordon Brothers Industries Pty Ltd, governing their terms and conditions of employment as stipulated in the agreement.

Gordon Brothers Industries Pty Ltd

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established