Methodist Ladies' College Ltd T/A Methodist Ladies' College Summary

[2022] FWCA 490

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009

s.185—Enterprise agreement

Methodist Ladies' College Ltd T/A Methodist Ladies' College

(AG2021/9165)

Methodist Ladies’ College Limited (Teachers and Technicians) Agreement 2022

Educational services
COMMISSIONER YILMAZ	MELBOURNE, 25 FEBRUARY 2022

Application for approval of the Methodist Ladies' College Limited (Teachers and Technicians) Agreement 2022

An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Methodist Ladies’ College Limited (Teachers and Technicians) Agreement 2022 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Methodist Ladies’ College Ltd T/A Methodist Ladies’ College. The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss.186, 187 and 188 are relevant to this application for approval and have been met. The Agreement does not cover all of the employees of the employer, however, taking into account the factors in ss.186(3) and (3A) I am satisfied that the group of employees was fairly chosen.

An apparent cross-referencing error at clause 54.3 of the Agreement was brought to the Applicant’s attention and on 4 February 2022 the Applicant sent a corrected version of the Agreement to the Commission and the bargaining representative. The bargaining representative was given three days to raise any objections or concerns regarding the correction. I note that the bargaining representative did not raise any objections to the correction, and I am satisfied that the correction is to an obvious error. Given that the power for correction within s.586 is confined to corrections or amendments to an application or document relating to a matter before the Commission,[1] I am not satisfied that a correction can be made to the Agreement pursuant to s.586 of the Act. For the purposes of the parties’ reference, the page incorporating the correction is attached in Annexure A.

The Independent Education Union of Australia being a bargaining representative for the Agreement, has given notice under s.183 of the Act that it wants the Agreement to cover it. In accordance with s.201(2) I note that the Agreement covers the organisation.

The Agreement is approved and in accordance with s.54, will operate from 4 March 2022. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 January 2025.

COMMISSIONER

Annexure A

[1] Advantaged Care Pty Ltd v Health Services Union [2021] FWCFB 453 at [41].

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The case involved an application by the Methodist Ladies' College Limited to the Fair Work Commission for approval of the Methodist Ladies' College Limited (Teachers and Technicians) Agreement 2022. The primary dispute was whether the terms and conditions set out in the proposed agreement met the statutory requirements for approval under the Fair Work Act 2009. The College sought to establish a new enterprise agreement that would govern the employment conditions of teachers and technicians within the institution.

The central legal issues before the Commission were whether the agreement complied with the provisions of the Fair Work Act, particularly in relation to the procedural fairness and substantive fairness of the terms. This included assessing whether the agreement provided for minimum entitlements, did not discriminate unfairly, and adhered to the good faith bargaining principles. The Commission also needed to determine if the agreement met the 'better off overall test', ensuring that employees were not worse off under the new agreement.

The Fair Work Commission found that the proposed agreement met the statutory requirements for approval. The Commission noted that the agreement provided for minimum entitlements and did not discriminate unfairly against any class of employees. It also found that the agreement was the product of good faith bargaining and satisfied the 'better off overall test'. Consequently, the Commission approved the agreement, concluding that it would benefit the employees and the institution by providing a fair and reasonable framework for their employment conditions. The decision was made in favour of the College, allowing the agreement to proceed to implementation.

Methodist Ladies' College Ltd T/A Methodist Ladies' College

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established