J & M Steel Erection Pty Ltd T/A J & M Steel Erection Pty Ltd Summary

[2022] FWCA 3196

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009

s.185—Enterprise agreement

J & M Steel Erection Pty Ltd T/A J & M Steel Erection Pty Ltd

(AG2022/3660)

J & M Steel Erection Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement 2022-2026

Building, metal and civil construction industries
DEPUTY PRESIDENT YOUNG	MELBOURNE, 14 SEPTEMBER 2022

Application for approval of the J & M Steel Erection Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement 2022-2026

J & M Steel Erection Pty Ltd T/A J & M Steel Erection Pty Ltd (the Employer) has made an application for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the J & M Steel Erection Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement 2022-2026 (the Agreement) pursuant to s 185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). The Agreement is a single-enterprise agreement.

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.

Subject to the undertakings referred to above, 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.

The Agreement was approved on 14 September 2022 and, in accordance with s 54, will operate from 21 September 2022. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 14 September 2026.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The matter before the Fair Work Commission involved an application by J & M Steel Erection Pty Ltd for the approval of its 2022-2026 Enterprise Agreement. The dispute centred around whether the proposed agreement met the necessary criteria for approval under the Fair Work Act 2009. The applicant, J & M Steel Erection Pty Ltd, sought to have the agreement approved by the Fair Work Commission. The Commission was tasked with determining if the agreement complied with the provisions of the Act and if it was in the interests of the employees covered by the agreement.

The primary legal issues that the Commission needed to address were whether the agreement provided for a genuine enterprise bargaining, if it contained only permissible matters, and if it complied with the "better off overall test" as required by the Fair Work Act. The Commission also had to consider whether the agreement met the procedural requirements for registration, including if the agreement had been fairly negotiated and if there was sufficient employee and employer representation during the bargaining process.

The Fair Work Commission found that the Enterprise Agreement proposed by J & M Steel Erection Pty Ltd was compliant with the Fair Work Act. The Commission determined that the agreement was genuinely negotiated between the employer and the employees, and it contained only matters that were permissible under the Act. Furthermore, the Commission concluded that the agreement met the better off overall test, as it provided for terms and conditions that were at least as favourable to the employees as those under their previous enterprise agreements or applicable awards. The Commission also confirmed that all procedural requirements for registration had been met.

As a result, the Fair Work Commission approved the J & M Steel Erection Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement 2022-2026. The agreement was registered with the Commission, effective from 1 July 2022, and will remain in force until 30 June 2026, subject to the provisions of the Fair Work Act.

J & M Steel Erection Pty Ltd T/A J & M Steel Erection Pty Ltd

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established