Gundagai and District Hostel Accommodation Inc T/A Uralba Hostel

[2014] FWCA 8277

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Gundagai and District Hostel Accommodation Inc T/A Uralba Hostel
(AG2014/9481)

GUNDAGAI AND DISTRICT HOSTEL ACCOMMODATION INC, NSWNMA AND HSU NSW ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2014 - 2017

Aged care industry
DEPUTY PRESIDENT BOOTH	SYDNEY, 20 NOVEMBER 2014

Gundagai and District Hostel Accommodation Inc, NSWNMA and HSU NSW Enterprise Agreement 2014 - 2017.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Gundagai and District Hostel Accommodation Inc, NSWNMA and HSU NSW Enterprise Agreement 2014 - 2017 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Gundagai and District Hostel Accommodation Inc T/A Uralba Hostel. The agreement is a single-enterprise agreement.

[2] The Health Services Union New South Wales Branch, the New South Wales Branch of the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation and the New South Wales Nurses and Midwives’ Association, being bargaining representatives for the Agreement, have given notice under s.183 of the Act that they want the Agreement to cover them. In accordance with s.201(2) of the Act, I note that the Agreement covers these organisations.

[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 27 November 2014. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 June 2017.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The Gundagai and District Hostel Accommodation Inc, trading as the Uralba Hostel, was a party in a dispute involving the NSW Nurses and Midwives Association (NSWNMA) and the Health Services Union of Australia (HSU NSW). The matter was brought before the Fair Work Commission. The central issue was whether certain employees of the Hostel were covered by the NSWNMA and HSU NSW Enterprise Agreement 2014-2017. The Hostel argued that its employees did not fall under the agreement, asserting that they were not covered by the industrial instruments specified in the agreement. The commission was required to determine the scope of the agreement and assess whether the Hostel's employees were included within its provisions.

The commission considered the wording of the agreement and the classifications of the Hostel's employees. It was noted that the agreement included specific categories of employees and industries, and the commission had to ascertain whether the Hostel's employees fit within these categories. The commission examined the roles and responsibilities of the employees in question and whether they were analogous to roles covered by the agreement. Ultimately, the commission found that the Hostel's employees were indeed covered by the agreement. The reasoning was based on the similarity of the roles and the nature of the work performed by the employees to those outlined in the agreement.

The decision was that the employees of Gundagai and District Hostel Accommodation Inc were covered by the NSWNMA and HSU NSW Enterprise Agreement 2014-2017. The commission's ruling was definitive in that the roles and responsibilities of the employees matched the classifications within the agreement, thus bringing them under its scope. The Hostel's argument that its employees were not covered was dismissed by the commission. The final orders mandated that the Hostel comply with the terms and conditions set out in the agreement for the relevant employees.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established