JR Block & Brick Laying Pty Ltd

[2014] FWCA 6382

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

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

JR Block & Brick Laying Pty Ltd
(AG2014/6931)

JR BLOCK AND BRICK LAYING PTY LTD ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2014-2017

Building, metal and civil construction industries
COMMISSIONER RIORDAN	SYDNEY, 12 SEPTEMBER 2014

Application for approval of the JR Block & Brick Laying Pty Ltd and Employees of the Company Collective Agreement 2014-2017.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known asthe JR Block & Brick Laying Pty Ltd and Employees of the Company Collective Agreement 2014-2017 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by JR Block & Brick Laying Pty Ltd (the Applicant). The agreement is a single-enterprise agreement.

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

[3] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from seven days after the issuing of this decision. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 12 September 2017.

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 JR Block & Brick Laying Pty Ltd and Employees of the Company Collective Agreement 2014-2017. The applicant, JR Block & Brick Laying Pty Ltd, sought to have the agreement registered under the Fair Work Act 2009. The nature of the dispute was whether the agreement complied with the requirements of the Act and whether it was in the best interests of the employees.

The legal issues before the Commission included whether the agreement contained all the mandatory terms prescribed by the Fair Work Act, whether the agreement had been genuinely negotiated, and whether the agreement provided for a fair and reasonable process for resolving disputes between the parties. The Commission also considered whether the agreement provided for a fair and reasonable process for resolving disputes between the parties, and whether the agreement was in the best interests of the employees.

In delivering its decision, the Commission found that the agreement complied with the requirements of the Fair Work Act and was in the best interests of the employees. The Commission noted that the agreement contained all the mandatory terms prescribed by the Act, and that the parties had genuinely negotiated the agreement. The Commission also found that the agreement provided for a fair and reasonable process for resolving disputes between the parties, and that it was in the best interests of the employees.

The Commission approved the JR Block & Brick Laying Pty Ltd and Employees of the Company Collective Agreement 2014-2017, and registered it under the Fair Work Act. The decision is a useful reminder for employers and employees of the importance of complying with the requirements of the Fair Work Act when negotiating and entering into a collective agreement. It also highlights the importance of genuinely negotiating an agreement that is in the best interests of the employees.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established