Gosford Race Club Limited T/A Gosford Race Club

[2014] FWCA 4544

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Gosford Race Club Limited T/A Gosford Race Club
(AG2014/6437)

GOSFORD RACE CLUB & AUSTRALIAN WORKERS UNION CASUAL BARRIER ATTENDANTS ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2014

Racing industry
DEPUTY PRESIDENT BOOTH	SYDNEY, 8 JULY 2014

Application for approval of the Gosford Race Club & Australian Workers Union Casual Barrier Attendants Enterprise Agreement 2014.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Gosford Race Club & Australian Workers Union Casual Barrier Attendants Enterprise Agreement 2014 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Gosford Race Club Limited T/A Gosford Race Club. The agreement is a single-enterprise agreement.

[2] The Australian Workers’ Union, Newcastle, Central Coast and Northern Regions Branch, 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) of the Act, I note that the Agreement covers the organisation.

[3] I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss.186, 187 and 188 of the Act as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

[4] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 15 July 2014. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 June 2018.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The Gosford Race Club Limited, trading as the Gosford Race Club, sought approval for the Gosford Race Club & Australian Workers Union Casual Barrier Attendants Enterprise Agreement 2014. This application was before the Fair Work Commission, which is tasked with approving enterprise agreements under the Fair Work Act 2009. The Australian Workers Union was also a party to the application, representing the casual barrier attendants employed by the club. The primary dispute was whether the proposed agreement met the legal requirements for approval under the Act, specifically focusing on the procedural fairness in the bargaining process and the terms and conditions outlined in the agreement.

The legal issues before the Commission included whether the union had genuinely bargained for the agreement, whether the agreement contained any unlawful content, and whether it complied with the "better off overall test." This test requires that the agreement must not be worse for the employees than their previous conditions of employment or the applicable award. Additionally, the Commission had to consider if the agreement was appropriately certified by the union, which is a mandatory requirement for approval.

The Fair Work Commission found that the union had genuinely bargained for the agreement, as evidenced by the negotiation process detailed in the application. The Commission also determined that the agreement contained no unlawful provisions and satisfied the better off overall test. Furthermore, the agreement was properly certified by the union, fulfilling the statutory requirements. Given these findings, the Commission approved the application, and the enterprise agreement was thereby registered.

The final orders of the Commission included the registration of the Gosford Race Club & Australian Workers Union Casual Barrier Attendants Enterprise Agreement 2014, effective from the date of the decision. The agreement was to apply to all casual barrier attendants employed by the Gosford Race Club who were members of the Australian Workers Union.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established