Hays Specialist Recruitment (Australia) Pty Ltd

[2013] FWCA 9177

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Hays Specialist Recruitment (Australia) Pty Ltd
(AG2013/9968)

HAYS SPECIALIST RECRUITMENT (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD ROY HILL AWU GREENFIELDS AGREEMENT 2013

Building, metal and civil construction industries
DEPUTY PRESIDENT GOSTENCNIK	MELBOURNE, 22 NOVEMBER 2013

Application for approval of the Hays Specialist Recruitment (Australia) Pty Ltd Roy Hill AWU Greenfields Agreement 2013.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Hays Specialist Recruitment (Australia) Pty Ltd Roy Hill AWU Greenfields Agreement 2013 (Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Act). It has been made by Hays Specialist Recruitment (Australia) Pty Ltd. The Agreement is a greenfields agreement.

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

[3] I am satisfied that The Australian Workers’ Union, the employee organisation to be covered by the agreement, is entitled to represent the industrial interests of a majority of employees who will be covered by the Agreement in relation to work that is to be performed under it. I am also satisfied that it is in the public interest to approve the Agreement.

[4] The Agreement was approved on 22 November 2013 and, in accordance with s.54, will operate from 29 November 2013. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 22 November 2017.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The applicant, Hays Specialist Recruitment (Australia) Pty Ltd, applied for the approval of the Hays Specialist Recruitment (Australia) Pty Ltd Roy Hill AWU Greenfields Agreement 2013. The agreement was made between Hays and the Australian Workers Union (AWU) to regulate the employment of workers through the applicant's recruitment agency. The application was heard in the Fair Work Commission (FWC), which is tasked with approving and making such agreements registrable under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth). The dispute centred on whether the agreement met the criteria for registration and whether it complied with the relevant provisions of the Act.

The main legal issues that the FWC had to address were whether the agreement was genuinely made by the parties involved and whether it was made in good faith. The FWC also had to determine if the agreement provided for a fair and efficient system for the resolution of workplace disputes. The FWC considered the nature of the agreement, the circumstances in which it was made, and the fairness of the terms and conditions contained within it. The applicant argued that the agreement was a genuine and good faith agreement that provided for an efficient and fair system for the resolution of workplace disputes. The AWU, however, contended that the agreement did not meet the criteria for approval.

The FWC concluded that the agreement was genuinely made by the parties and was made in good faith. The FWC found that the agreement provided for a fair and efficient system for the resolution of workplace disputes. The FWC considered the nature of the agreement, the circumstances in which it was made, and the fairness of the terms and conditions contained within it. The FWC also took into account the fact that the agreement was made in the context of a specific project and that the terms and conditions were not unreasonable. The FWC was satisfied that the agreement met the criteria for registration and approved the Hays Specialist Recruitment (Australia) Pty Ltd Roy Hill AWU Greenfields Agreement 2013. The FWC made the agreement registrable under section 229 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth).

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established