Lmats Pty Ltd T/A Laboratory For Materials Advanced Testing Services

Case [2023] FWCA 534


[2023] FWCA 534

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009

s.185—Enterprise agreement

Lmats Pty Ltd T/A Laboratory For Materials Advanced Testing Services

(AG2023/188)

LMATS (Perth) collective agreement 2022-2025

Manufacturing and associated industries

DEPUTY PRESIDENT DEAN

CANBERRA, 21 FEBRUARY 2023

Application for approval of the LMATS (Perth) collective agreement 2022-2025

  1. An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the LMATS (Perth) collective agreement 2022-2025 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Lmats Pty Ltd T/A Laboratory For Materials Advanced Testing Services. The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

  1. The Employer 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. The undertakings are taken to be a term of the agreement.

  1. 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.

  1. The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 28 February 2023. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 23 February 2027.


DEPUTY PRESIDENT

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Details
AGLC
Lmats Pty Ltd T/A Laboratory For Materials Advanced Testing Services [2023] FWCA 534
Case
[2023] FWCA 534
Decision Date

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The case involved Lmats Pty Ltd, trading as Laboratory for Materials Advanced Testing Services, which applied to the Fair Work Commission for the approval of the LMATS (Perth) Collective Agreement 2022-2025. The applicant sought to have the agreement approved under the Fair Work Act 2009, which allows for the creation of modern awards through collective bargaining. The nature of the dispute was primarily procedural, focusing on whether the agreement had been appropriately negotiated and whether it complied with the requirements of the Fair Work Act.

The primary legal issues the Commission had to address were whether the collective agreement had been genuinely negotiated and if it met the criteria for approval as stipulated in the Act. The Commission examined whether the applicant had followed the necessary procedural steps in negotiating the agreement and whether the agreement provided for minimum terms and conditions of employment that were no less favourable than those provided by the relevant modern award. Additionally, the Commission considered whether the agreement complied with the 'better off overall test', ensuring that employees would be no worse off financially under the agreement than they would be under the applicable modern award.

The Commission found that the applicant had followed the necessary procedural steps in negotiating the agreement and that the agreement had been genuinely negotiated. It was determined that the agreement provided for minimum terms and conditions of employment that were no less favourable than those provided by the relevant modern award. Furthermore, the Commission concluded that the agreement satisfied the better off overall test, as employees would be no worse off financially under the agreement than they would be under the applicable modern award. As a result, the Commission approved the LMATS (Perth) Collective Agreement 2022-2025.

The final orders of the Commission were that the LMATS (Perth) Collective Agreement 2022-2025 be approved under the Fair Work Act 2009. The approved agreement would apply to the employees of Lmats Pty Ltd, trading as Laboratory for Materials Advanced Testing Services, and would be registered with the Fair Work Commission. This decision allowed the agreement to take effect from the date of approval and provided a framework for the terms and conditions of employment for the relevant employees for the duration of the agreement.

Orders

Orders of the court

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Background

Background to the litigation

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Evidence

Evidence Before The Court

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Decision

Reasons for decision

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Ratio Decidendi

Legal Principle Established

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