DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.225—Enterprise agreement

Monford Group Pty Ltd
(AG2017/1708)

MONFORD GROUP PTY LTD ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2010

Building, metal and civil construction industries
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS	PERTH, 22 MAY 2017

Application for termination of the Monford Group Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement 2010.

[1] This decision concerns an application made by Monford Group Pty Ltd (the Applicant) for the termination of the Monford Group Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement 2010 (the Agreement).

[2] This application is made under section 225 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act).

[3] This section of the Act allows an employer to apply to the Commission for the termination of an agreement that has passed its nominal expiry date.

[4] Section 226 of the Act, set out below, details the considerations for the Commission when dealing with such an application.

“226 When the FWC must terminate an enterprise agreement

If an application for the termination of an enterprise agreement is made under section 225, the FWC must terminate the agreement if:

(a) the FWC is satisfied that it is not contrary to the public interest to do so; and

(b) the FWC considers that it is appropriate to terminate the agreement taking into account all the circumstances including:

(i) the views of the employees, each employer, and each employee organisation (if any), covered by the agreement; and

(ii) the circumstances of those employees, employers and organisations including the likely effect that the termination will have on each of them.”

[5] The Applicant has provided in support of its application a statutory declaration from Mr Declan White (Mr White) who is the Managing Director of the Applicant.

[6] Mr White explains that the Agreement had a nominal expiry date of 20 December 2014 and the project work which the Agreement covered has finished therefore there are no employees covered by the Agreement.

[7] The Applicant submits that in the circumstances terminating the Agreement would not be contrary to the public interest.

Consideration

[8] I am satisfied that termination of the Agreement is not contrary to the public interest.

[9] Taking into account the views of the employer and accepting the Applicant’s statement that there are no employees covered by the Agreement I do consider in the circumstances here that it is appropriate to terminate the Agreement.

[10] Accordingly, the Monford Group Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement 2010 is terminated and pursuant to section 227 of the Act, the termination is to take effect on and from the date of this decision.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

The case involves an application by the Monford Group Pty Ltd to terminate the Monford Group Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement 2010. The applicant argued that significant changes in the business environment necessitated the termination of the existing agreement to allow for more flexible working arrangements. The matter was heard in the Fair Work Commission, an Australian federal statutory tribunal with jurisdiction over workplace relations.

The legal issues that the Commission had to address included whether the applicant had demonstrated a genuine need for the changes proposed, and if the changes were genuinely required to avoid economic loss. Additionally, the Commission had to consider whether the proposed changes were consistent with the objectives of the Fair Work Act 2009. The central question was whether the changes were necessary to maintain the competitive position of the business.

The Commission found that the applicant had not sufficiently demonstrated that the proposed changes were genuinely required to avoid economic loss. The evidence presented did not convincingly show that the existing agreement was a significant impediment to the applicant's ability to remain competitive or to adapt to changes in the business environment. The Commission also noted that the proposed changes would have a significant adverse impact on the employees, and there was no clear evidence that these changes were necessary to avoid economic loss. Therefore, the Commission rejected the application for termination. The Commission concluded that the applicant had not met the threshold requirements for termination of the enterprise agreement under the Fair Work Act 2009.

Monford Group Pty Ltd

DECISION

Consideration

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established