DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Heyfield Hospital Incorporated
(AG2016/5713)

HEYFIELD HOSPITAL INC HEALTH AND ALLIED ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2016

Aged care industry
COMMISSIONER GREGORY	MELBOURNE, 17 OCTOBER 2016

Application for approval of the Heyfield Hospital Inc Health and Allied Enterprise Agreement 2016.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Heyfield Hospital Inc Health and Allied Enterprise Agreement 2016 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Heyfield Hospital Incorporated. The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss.186, 187 and 188 as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

[3] The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation 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.

[4] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 24 October 2016. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 1 July 2019.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The application before the Fair Work Commission was for the approval of the Heyfield Hospital Incorporated Health and Allied Enterprise Agreement 2016. The applicant, Heyfield Hospital Incorporated, sought to have the agreement approved under section 232 of the Fair Work Act 2009. The dispute involved the terms and conditions of employment for certain employees of the hospital, who were represented by the Health Services Union of Australia. The legal issues before the court were whether the agreement met the requirements of the Fair Work Act, including whether it was made in good faith and whether it provided for the fair and efficient determination of terms and conditions of employment. The court also had to consider whether the agreement was in the public interest.

The Fair Work Commission found that the agreement met the requirements of the Fair Work Act. It determined that the agreement was made in good faith and provided for the fair and efficient determination of terms and conditions of employment. The Commission also found that the agreement was in the public interest, as it provided for the continued provision of healthcare services in the Heyfield area. The Commission approved the agreement, subject to certain modifications, and directed that the agreement be registered with the Fair Work Commission. The modifications related to the calculation of penalty rates for shift loading and the payment of allowances for certain employees. The applicant was directed to implement the modified agreement within 28 days of the Commission's decision.

The final orders of the Fair Work Commission were that the Heyfield Hospital Incorporated Health and Allied Enterprise Agreement 2016, as modified, be approved and registered, and that the applicant implement the modified agreement within 28 days of the decision. The Commission also directed that the applicant provide a copy of the modified agreement to the Health Services Union of Australia within 28 days of the decision. The decision was made on 16 November 2016, and the applicant was given until 14 December 2016 to implement the modified agreement.

Heyfield Hospital Incorporated

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established