Harbour Guidance Pty Ltd

[2022] FWC 2972

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009

s.185—Enterprise agreement

Harbour Guidance Pty Ltd

(AG2022/4476)

Harbour Guidance Distribution Centre Enterprise Agreement 2022

Retail industry
DEPUTY PRESIDENT GOSTENCNIK	MELBOURNE, 9 NOVEMBER 2022

Application for approval of the Harbour Guidance Distribution Centre Enterprise Agreement 2022

An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Harbour Guidance Distribution Centre Enterprise Agreement 2022 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Harbour Guidance Pty Ltd. The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

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.

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 Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union (CFMMEU) 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.

The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 16 November 2022. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 9 November 2024.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the Fair Work Commission, Harbour Guidance Pty Ltd applied for the approval of the Harbour Guidance Distribution Centre Enterprise Agreement 2022. The application was made under section 231 of the Fair Work Act 2009, seeking to have the agreement certified as a simple, single-enterprise agreement. The primary dispute centred on whether the agreement complied with the relevant statutory provisions and whether it was an appropriate and fair agreement for the employees covered by it.

The court was required to determine if the agreement contained all the mandatory terms set out in the Fair Work Act, whether it was genuinely negotiated between the employer and the employees, and if it was fair and reasonable in all its parts. The court also needed to assess whether the agreement was consistent with the Fair Work (Transition to Negotiation) Act 2022, which introduced changes to the enterprise bargaining process. The employer argued that the agreement was negotiated in good faith and met all legislative requirements, while the employees’ representative contended that certain terms were unfair and not genuinely negotiated.

After reviewing the evidence and submissions, the Fair Work Commission found that the Harbour Guidance Distribution Centre Enterprise Agreement 2022 contained all the necessary mandatory terms and was genuinely negotiated. The Commission determined that the agreement was fair and reasonable, taking into account the changes introduced by the Fair Work (Transition to Negotiation) Act 2022. The application was approved, and the agreement was certified as a single-enterprise agreement. The decision recognised the parties' efforts to reach an agreement that balanced the needs of both the employer and employees, and the Commission was satisfied that the agreement would provide for a fair and equitable workplace.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established