DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Latvian Friendly Society Ltd T/A Latvian Friendly Society
(AG2018/71)

LATVIAN FRIENDLY SOCIETY LTD HEALTH AND ALLIED SERVICES ENTEPRISE AGREEMENT 2017

Aged care industry
COMMISSIONER JOHNS	MELBOURNE, 8 JUNE 2018

Application for approval of the Latvian Friendly Society Ltd Health and Allied Services Enterprise Agreement 2017.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Latvian Friendly Society Ltd Health and Allied Services Enterprise Agreement 2017 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Latvian Friendly Society Ltd T/A Latvian Friendly Society. The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

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

[3] Subject to the undertakings referred to above, 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 application was not lodged within 14 days after the agreement was made. Pursuant to s.185(3)(b), in all the circumstances I consider it fair to extend the time for making the application to the date it was actually made.

[5] The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation and Health Services Union being bargaining representatives for the Agreement, have given notice under s.183 of the Act that it wants the Agreement to cover them. In accordance with s.201(2) I note that the Agreement covers the organisations.

[6] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 15 June 2018. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 May 2021.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The applicant, Latvian Friendly Society Ltd, trading as the Latvian Friendly Society, sought the Fair Work Commission’s approval of the Latvian Friendly Society Health and Allied Services Enterprise Agreement 2017. The respondent, Australian Services Union, had lodged an objection to the application. The Latvian Friendly Society provides health and allied services, and the agreement in question was to be applied to employees who were covered by the Health and Community Services (General) Award 2010. The legal issues before the court centred on whether the agreement met the criteria for approval under the Fair Work Act 2009. Specifically, the court had to determine if the agreement provided for the terms and conditions of employment of the employees to which it applied and if it was made in good faith and without coercion.

The court examined the provisions of the agreement and the process by which it was made. It considered whether the agreement included all the terms and conditions of employment as required, and if it did not, whether the omitted terms were minor and could be fairly presumed to have been intended to be included. The court also assessed if the agreement had been made in good faith and without coercion. It took into account the submissions and evidence provided by both parties. The Latvian Friendly Society submitted that the agreement was comprehensive and had been made through a genuine process of negotiation. The Australian Services Union, on the other hand, argued that certain terms were missing and that the process had been flawed.

After considering the evidence and submissions, the court concluded that the agreement met the criteria for approval. It found that any minor terms that were omitted could be presumed to have been intended to be included. The court was satisfied that the agreement had been made in good faith and without coercion. The court approved the Latvian Friendly Society Health and Allied Services Enterprise Agreement 2017. The approval was subject to certain conditions, including the requirement for the applicant to provide a copy of the agreement to the Fair Work Ombudsman within five business days of the approval.

Latvian Friendly Society Ltd T/A Latvian Friendly Society

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established