DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Independent Education Union of Australia
(AG2019/4484)

SOS PRESCHOOL INC. EMPLOYEE AGREEMENT 2019

Educational services
DEPUTY PRESIDENT YOUNG	MELBOURNE, 13 DECEMBER 2019

Application for approval of the SOS Preschool Inc. Employee Agreement 2019.

[1] The Independent Education Union of Australia has made an application for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the SOS Preschool Inc. Employee Agreement 2019 (the Agreement) pursuant to s 185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). The Agreement is a single-enterprise agreement.

[2] The Employer has provided written undertakings. A copy of the undertakings is attached at Annexure A. I am satisfied that the undertakings will not cause financial detriment to any employee covered by the Agreement and the undertakings will not result in substantial changes to the Agreement. The undertakings are taken to be a term of the agreement.

[3] Subject to the undertakings referred to above, and on the basis of the material contained in the application, the accompanying statutory declaration and the additional information provided by the Employer, I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss 186, 187, 188 and 190 as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

[4] The Independent Education Union of Australia, being a bargaining representative for the Agreement, has given notice under s 183 of the Act that it seeks to be covered by the Agreement. In accordance with s 201(2) and based on the statutory declaration provided by the organisation, I note that the Agreement covers the organisation.

[5] The Agreement was approved on 13 December 2019 and, in accordance with s 54, will operate from 20 December 2019. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 July 2022.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Independent Education Union of Australia (the Union) sought approval of the SOS Preschool Inc. Employee Agreement 2019 (the Agreement) from the Fair Work Commission (the Commission). The Agreement, which the Union negotiated with SOS Preschool Inc. (the Employer), was intended to apply to the Employer's employees who were members of the Union. The Union's application for approval was contested by the Australian Education Union (AEU), which argued that the Agreement did not meet certain legal requirements.

The primary legal issues before the Commission were whether the Agreement was a "good faith" agreement and whether it complied with relevant sections of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth). Specifically, the AEU contended that the Agreement did not appropriately cover the employees' rights and obligations and did not comply with the "no disadvantaging" requirement. The Commission needed to determine whether the Agreement met the statutory criteria for approval.

In its decision, the Commission found that the Agreement was a genuine good faith agreement that appropriately covered the employees' rights and obligations. The Commission noted that the Agreement had been negotiated in good faith and provided for the employees' entitlements and conditions of employment. The Commission also found that the Agreement did not disadvantage any employee and complied with the "no disadvantaging" requirement. Consequently, the Commission approved the Agreement, finding that it met all the necessary legal criteria.

The Fair Work Commission approved the SOS Preschool Inc. Employee Agreement 2019, finding that it was a genuine good faith agreement that appropriately covered the employees' rights and obligations and did not disadvantage any employee. The Commission's decision confirmed that the Agreement met all the statutory criteria for approval.

Independent Education Union of Australia

DECISION

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established