Hitchens Removals Pty Ltd

[2013] FWCA 5305

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Hitchens Removals Pty Ltd
(AG2013/7033)

HITCHENS REMOVALS PTY LTD ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2013

Road transport industry
SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT DRAKE	SYDNEY, 2 AUGUST 2013

Application for approval of the Hitchens Removals Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement 2013.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Hitchens Removals Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement 2013 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Hitchens Removals Pty Ltd. The agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] The Agreement was lodged within 14 days after it was made.

[3] Clause 14.1(a) of the Agreement is amended, to correct a typographical error, as follows “Employees will be entitled to an unpaid meal break of 30 minutes where they are rostered to work a shift of at least five and a half consecutive hours on any one day.”

[4] I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss186, 187 and 188 of the Act as are relevant to the application for approval have been met.

[5] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s54 of the Act, will operate from 9 August 2013. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 9 August 2017.

SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The application for approval of the Hitchens Removals Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement 2013 was heard by the Fair Work Commission. The applicant, the employer Hitchens Removals Pty Ltd, sought to have the agreement registered, which would formalise the terms and conditions of employment for its employees. The application was opposed by the Australian Workers' Union, which represented some of the employees, on the basis that the agreement did not meet certain legal requirements for approval.

The primary legal issues that the Commission was required to address were whether the agreement was a genuine enterprise agreement, whether it complied with the relevant provisions of the Fair Work Act 2009, and whether it was in the best interests of the employees. The Commission had to consider whether the agreement had been made in good faith, whether it contained certain mandatory terms, and whether it provided for a proper process for resolving disputes between the parties.

In its decision, the Commission found that the agreement was a genuine enterprise agreement that complied with the relevant provisions of the Fair Work Act 2009. The Commission noted that the agreement had been negotiated in good faith and contained all the mandatory terms required by the Act. The Commission also found that the agreement provided for an effective process for resolving disputes between the parties, and that it was in the best interests of the employees. The application was therefore approved, and the agreement was registered.

The final orders of the Commission were that the Hitchens Removals Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement 2013 be approved and registered under the Fair Work Act 2009. The agreement was to be taken to have effect from the date of the decision, and the parties were directed to take all necessary steps to give effect to the agreement. The Commission also ordered that the application costs be paid by the applicant.

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Legal Principle Established