Kent Removals and Storage Pty Ltd T/A Kent Removals Summary

[2021] FWCA 6620

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Kent Removals and Storage Pty Ltd T/A Kent Removals
(AG2021/8063)

KENT RELOCATION GROUP PTY LTD ADELAIDE SA ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2019 - 2022

Storage services
DEPUTY PRESIDENT YOUNG	MELBOURNE, 12 NOVEMBER 2021

Application for approval of the Kent Relocation Group Pty Ltd Adelaide SA Enterprise Agreement 2019 - 2022

[1] Kent Removals and Storage Pty Ltd T/A Kent Removals (the Employer) has made an application for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Kent Relocation Group Pty Ltd Adelaide SA Enterprise Agreement 2019 - 2022 (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, and 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 Agreement was approved on 12 November 2021 and, in accordance with s 54, will operate from 19 November 2021. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 December 2022.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Kent Removals and Storage Pty Ltd, trading as Kent Removals, applied to the Fair Work Commission for approval of the Enterprise Agreement 2019-2022 with the Kent Relocation Group Pty Ltd, an Adelaide-based company. The agreement sought to govern the employment terms and conditions for the employees of the respondent company. The application was made under the Fair Work Act 2009, which requires that certain conditions be met for an enterprise agreement to be approved. These include ensuring that the agreement does not permit terms and conditions of employment that are less favourable than the safety net provided by modern awards and that the agreement has been fairly and genuinely made.

The central legal issues the Commission needed to address were whether the agreement met the statutory requirements for approval and whether the process by which the agreement was made was genuinely and fairly negotiated. The Commission examined the evidence provided regarding the negotiation process and the content of the agreement. It was particularly important to determine if the agreement had been made without any improper influence or coercion and if it contained terms that were less favourable than the safety net minimums set out in the relevant awards.

After reviewing the application and the evidence, the Fair Work Commission found that the agreement satisfied all statutory requirements for approval. The Commission concluded that the agreement had been fairly and genuinely negotiated and that it did not contain any terms that were less favourable than the safety net provided by the awards. The Commission was satisfied that the process was free from any improper influence or coercion and that the agreement was in compliance with the relevant provisions of the Fair Work Act. Consequently, the Commission approved the Enterprise Agreement 2019-2022.

The final order of the Commission was to approve the Enterprise Agreement 2019-2022, effective from the date of the decision. This approval ensures that the agreement will govern the employment terms and conditions of the employees of the respondent company for the specified period, provided it remains compliant with the Fair Work Act and does not deviate from the safety net provisions of the relevant awards.

Kent Removals and Storage Pty Ltd T/A Kent Removals

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established