Healthe Care Surgical Pty Ltd T/A Healthe Care Summary

[2022] FWCA 3920

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009

s.185—Enterprise agreement

Healthe Care Surgical Pty Ltd T/A Healthe Care

(AG2022/4355)

Healthe Care (Victorian Hospitals) Support Services Enterprise Agreement 2022

Health and welfare services
COMMISSIONER MCKINNON	SYDNEY, 8 NOVEMBER 2022

Application for approval of the Healthe Care (Victorian Hospitals) Support Services Enterprise Agreement 2022

Healthe Care Surgical Pty Ltd T/A Healthe Care has applied for approval of a single enterprise agreement known as the Healthe Care (Victorian Hospitals) Support Services Enterprise Agreement 2022 (the Agreement).

A written undertaking has been given in accordance with section 190 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Act) and is attached at Annexure A. I am satisfied that the undertaking is not likely to cause financial detriment to any employee covered by the Agreement and does not result in substantial changes to the Agreement. The undertaking is taken to be a term of the Agreement.

With the undertaking now given, I am satisfied that each of the requirements of sections 186, 187, 188 and 190 of the Act, as are relevant to this application for approval, have been met.

The Agreement is approved and will operate from 15 November 2022. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 1 July 2024.

The Agreement covers the Health Services Union.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Healthe Care Surgical Pty Ltd, trading as Healthe Care, applied to the Fair Work Commission for approval of the Healthe Care (Victorian Hospitals) Support Services Enterprise Agreement 2022. The application involved the determination of the agreement's compliance with the Fair Work Act 2009, specifically focusing on whether the agreement met the requirements for a certified agreement.

The central legal issues the Commission had to address were whether the agreement contained all the mandatory terms prescribed by the Act, whether the agreement was made in good faith and without coercion, and whether the agreement provided for an effective system of dispute resolution. The Commission also needed to consider whether the agreement met the requirements for a single-enterprise agreement, as well as the procedural fairness in the bargaining process.

In reaching its decision, the Commission considered the submissions from both Healthe Care and the relevant union. It examined the content of the agreement to ensure it included all mandatory terms and was made in good faith. The Commission also reviewed the evidence regarding the bargaining process to confirm it was conducted without coercion and in compliance with the Act. The Commission found that the agreement contained all mandatory terms, was made in good faith, and provided for an effective dispute resolution system. It concluded that the agreement met the requirements for a single-enterprise agreement and that the bargaining process was procedurally fair.

The Fair Work Commission approved the Healthe Care (Victorian Hospitals) Support Services Enterprise Agreement 2022, finding it compliant with the Fair Work Act 2009. The Commission's decision was based on the agreement's inclusion of all mandatory terms, its formation in good faith, and the adequacy of its dispute resolution provisions. The Commission also determined that the agreement was a single-enterprise agreement and that the bargaining process was procedurally fair.

Healthe Care Surgical Pty Ltd T/A Healthe Care

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established