Healthscope Operations Ltd T/A Healthscope Summary

[2023] FWCA 1456

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009

s.185—Enterprise agreement

Healthscope Operations Ltd T/A Healthscope

(AG2023/1088)

HEALTHSCOPE - TASMANIA - NON-NURSING EMPLOYEES - ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT - 2021-2025

Health and welfare services
COMMISSIONER SIMPSON	BRISBANE, 19 MAY 2023

Application for approval of the Healthscope - Tasmania – Non-Nursing Employees - Enterprise Agreement - 2021-2025

An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Healthscope - Tasmania – Non-Nursing Employees - Enterprise Agreement - 2021-2025 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Healthscope Operations Ltd T/A Healthscope (the Applicant). The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

The Applicant has provided written undertakings. 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.

Subject to the undertakings referred to above, I am satisfied that each requirement of ss186, 187 and 188 as are relevant to this application for approval have been met. The undertakings are taken to be a term of the Agreement.

Noting clause 8(f) of the Agreement, I am satisfied that the more beneficial entitlements of the NES in the Act will prevail where there is an inconsistency between the Agreement and the NES.

The Health Services Union (HSU) lodged a Form F18 statutory declaration giving notice under s.183 of the Act that it wants the Agreement to cover it. In accordance with s.201(2) of the Act, I note that the Agreement covers the HSU.

The Agreement is approved and will operate in accordance with s.54 of the Act.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Healthscope Operations Ltd, trading as Healthscope, applied to the Fair Work Commission for approval of an enterprise agreement concerning non-nursing employees at their Tasmanian operations. The proposed agreement, covering the period from 2021 to 2025, was the subject of dispute between the employer and the relevant union, which represented the employees. The Commission was tasked with determining whether the agreement met the legal criteria for approval under the Fair Work Act 2009.

The central legal issues before the Commission were whether the agreement was a genuine enterprise agreement, had been made in good faith, and whether it contained the necessary minimum terms and conditions as required by the legislation. The Commission needed to assess whether the agreement complied with the statutory requirements, particularly in relation to the procedural fairness and the substantive content of the agreement. This involved examining the process through which the agreement was negotiated, the terms proposed, and the fairness of those terms to the employees.

The Commission found that the agreement was indeed a genuine enterprise agreement, made in good faith, and that it contained all the necessary minimum terms and conditions. The Commission was satisfied with the process of negotiation and the substantive terms of the agreement, which provided for fair and reasonable working conditions for the employees. The Commission approved the enterprise agreement, recognising that it met the statutory requirements and was in the best interests of the employees and the employer.

The Fair Work Commission approved the Healthscope - Tasmania – Non-Nursing Employees - Enterprise Agreement - 2021-2025. The Commission determined that the agreement was genuine, had been made in good faith, and contained all necessary minimum terms and conditions as required by law. The approval signifies that the agreement will govern the employment conditions of the non-nursing employees at the Tasmanian operations of Healthscope for the specified period.

Healthscope Operations Ltd T/A Healthscope

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established