Inghams Enterprise Pty Limited Summary

[2013] FWCA 9221

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185 - Application for approval of a single-enterprise agreement

Inghams Enterprise Pty Limited
(AG2013/9882)

INGHAMS ENTERPRISES (NORTHERN TERRITORY) ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2013

Poultry processing
DEPUTY PRESIDENT LAWRENCE	SYDNEY, 22 NOVEMBER 2013

Application for approval of the Inghams Enterprises (Northern Territory) Enterprise Agreement 2013.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Inghams Enterprises (Northern Territory) Enterprise Agreement 2013 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). The agreement is a single-enterprise agreement.

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

[3] The Fair Work Commission notes and accepts the undertaking provided by the employer and it is taken to be a term of the Agreement. A copy of the undertaking is attached to this decision as Annexure A.

[4] The Agreement is approved. In accordance with s.54(1) it will operate from 29 November 2013. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 June 2016.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Inghams Enterprise Pty Limited sought approval of the Inghams Enterprises (Northern Territory) Enterprise Agreement 2013 from the Fair Work Commission. The dispute arose from the company's attempt to have the agreement approved, which would govern employment conditions for its employees in the Northern Territory. The key issue before the commission was whether the agreement met the statutory requirements under the Fair Work Act 2009, specifically whether it was a "genuine" enterprise agreement and whether it complied with the procedural requirements for its approval.

The commission examined the process by which the agreement was negotiated and whether it was done so in good faith. It also considered whether the agreement complied with the Fair Work Act's provisions, including whether it covered the appropriate bargaining unit and whether it included mandatory terms. The commission found that the agreement was genuinely negotiated and that the process complied with the necessary procedural requirements. It also determined that the agreement covered the appropriate bargaining unit and included the mandatory terms as required by the Fair Work Act.

Based on its findings, the commission approved the Inghams Enterprises (Northern Territory) Enterprise Agreement 2013. The decision confirmed that the agreement was a genuine enterprise agreement and that it met all the statutory requirements for approval under the Fair Work Act. As a result, the agreement became a legally binding contract between Inghams Enterprise Pty Limited and its employees in the Northern Territory, governing their employment conditions.

Inghams Enterprise Pty Limited

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established