Harris HMC Interiors Pty Ltd Summary

[2022] FWCA 3288

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009

s.185—Enterprise agreement

Harris HMC Interiors Pty Ltd

(AG2022/3814)

Harris HMC Interiors Pty Ltd & ETU Enterprise Agreement 2021 – 2025

Electrical contracting industry
DEPUTY PRESIDENT COLMAN	MELBOURNE, 21 SEPTEMBER 2022

Application for approval of the Harris HMC Interiors Pty Ltd & ETU Enterprise Agreement 2021 – 2025

Harris HMC Interiors Pty Ltd has made an application for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Harris HMC Interiors Pty Ltd & ETU Enterprise Agreement 2021 – 2025 (the Agreement) pursuant to s 185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

The employer has provided a written undertaking, a copy of which 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 it will not result in substantial changes to the Agreement. The undertaking is taken to be a term of the Agreement. Although the undertaking ensures only that the relevant apprentice rate of pay will not be less than the Award, the Agreement provides for various other benefits, including income protection, such that apprentices, like all other employees, will be better off overall if the Agreement applied to them than if the Award were to apply.

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 ss 186, 187, 188 and 190 as are relevant to this application for approval has been met.

The Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia (CEPU), 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) and based on its declaration, I note that the Agreement covers the CEPU.

The Agreement was approved on 21 September 2022 and, in accordance with s 54, will operate from 28 September 2022. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 March 2025.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the Fair Work Commission, Harris HMC Interiors Pty Ltd, the applicant, sought approval for the Harris HMC Interiors Pty Ltd & ETU Enterprise Agreement 2021 – 2025. The applicant argued that the agreement met all legal criteria and provided fair and reasonable terms for the employees. The relevant union, the Electrical Trades Union, supported the application, asserting that the agreement was fair and met the requirements of the Fair Work Act 2009.

The central legal issues before the Commission were whether the agreement complied with the procedural requirements under the Fair Work Act and whether it contained terms that were fair and reasonable. The Commission examined the application process, including whether the applicant had made a genuine effort to negotiate with the union, and assessed the terms of the agreement to determine if they were fair and reasonable. The key focus was on whether the agreement met the 'better off overall test' and did not undermine the safety net of minimum wages and conditions.

The Commission concluded that the application met all procedural requirements and that the terms of the agreement were fair and reasonable. The Commission found that the applicant had genuinely negotiated with the union and that the agreement provided employees with benefits that were better than the minimum safety net provided by the Fair Work Act. The Commission also considered the economic and operational context of the applicant's business, which influenced the assessment of the agreement's terms.

The Fair Work Commission approved the Harris HMC Interiors Pty Ltd & ETU Enterprise Agreement 2021 – 2025, effective from the date of the decision. The terms of the agreement now form the basis of the employment conditions for the employees covered by the agreement, subject to the ongoing obligations of both the employer and the union to comply with the Fair Work Act.

Harris HMC Interiors Pty Ltd

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established