Haigh Manufacturing (No 2) Pty Ltd T/A Haigh’s Manufacturing

[2021] FWCA 6922

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Haigh Manufacturing (No 2) Pty Ltd T/A Haigh’s Manufacturing
(AG2021/8476)

HAIGH’S MANUFACTURING AND LOGISTICS ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2021

Food, beverages and tobacco manufacturing industry
COMMISSIONER SPENCER	BRISBANE, 1 DECEMBER 2021

Application for approval of the Haigh’s Manufacturing and Logistics Enterprise Agreement 2021.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Haigh’s Manufacturing and Logistics Enterprise Agreement 2021 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Haigh Manufacturing (No.2) Pty Ltd (the Applicant). The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] Subject to matters that have been addressed by way of undertakings, 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.

[3] As noted, pursuant to s.190(3), I have accepted undertakings from the employer. In accordance with ss.191(1) and 201(3) of the Act the undertakings are taken to be a term of the Agreement. A copy of the undertakings is attached to the Agreement.

[4] The “Automotive, Food, Metals, Engineering, Printing and Kindred Industries Union” known as the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union (AMWU) SA 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) I note that the Agreement covers the organisation.

[5] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 8 December 2021. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 1 August 2024.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the matter of Haigh Manufacturing (No 2) Pty Ltd trading as Haigh’s Manufacturing, the Fair Work Commission was asked to approve an enterprise agreement. The agreement, titled the Haigh’s Manufacturing and Logistics Enterprise Agreement 2021, was submitted for consideration under the Fair Work Act 2009. The dispute centred on the terms and conditions of employment for the workers within the company and the application for the agreement to be recognised as a protected action, allowing it to be directly registered without the need for a vote by the employees.

The primary legal issues the Commission had to address were whether the agreement met the statutory requirements under the Fair Work Act, including the ‘better off overall test’ (BOOT) and whether the agreement complied with the ‘no disadvantage test’. This involved examining whether the proposed agreement would provide employees with at least the minimum safety net entitlements and whether it unfairly disadvantaged any employee or group of employees. The Commission also had to consider if the agreement contained terms that were contrary to public policy or not genuinely agreed upon.

The Commission found that the proposed agreement satisfied the BOOT, as employees would be better off overall when compared to the applicable awards. The Commission determined that the agreement did not unfairly disadvantage any employee or group of employees and that the terms were not contrary to public policy. The Commission was satisfied that the agreement had been genuinely negotiated and that it complied with the statutory requirements. Consequently, the Fair Work Commission approved the Haigh’s Manufacturing and Logistics Enterprise Agreement 2021.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established