DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

My Place Foundation (Inc.)
(AG2015/3806)

MY PLACE FOUNDATION (INC) PERSONAL ASSISTANTS ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2015

Social, community, home care and disability services
COMMISSIONER ROE	MELBOURNE, 14 JULY 2015

Application for approval of the My Place Foundation (Inc) Personal Assistants Enterprise Agreement 2015.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the My Place Foundation (Inc) Personal Assistants Enterprise Agreement 2015 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by My Place Foundation (Inc). 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. The Agreement does not cover all of the employees of the employer, however, taking into account the factors in Section 186(3) and (3A) I am satisfied that the group of employees was fairly chosen.

[4] The Agreement was approved on 14 July 2015 and, in accordance with s.54, will operate from 21 July 2015. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 1 May 2019.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

ANNEXURE A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the Fair Work Commission, the My Place Foundation (Inc), an employer, applied for the approval of the My Place Foundation (Inc) Personal Assistants Enterprise Agreement 2015. The My Place Foundation (Inc) provides disability services in Victoria and the agreement was entered into between the employer and its employees who are personal assistants. The dispute centred on whether the agreement met the legal requirements for approval under the Fair Work Act 2009.

The key legal issue before the Commission was whether the agreement was a "single interest" enterprise agreement. A single interest enterprise agreement can only be made if the employees covered by the agreement have a single interest in relation to their employment. In this case, the employees were not homogenous, as they provided a range of services to people with different disabilities and had varying levels of experience. The Commission had to determine if the employees could be considered to have a single interest for the purposes of the agreement.

The Commission found that the employees did not have a single interest, as they did not share common employment conditions, duties, or skills. The Commission also noted that the agreement did not provide for different classifications or rates of pay for employees with different levels of experience or who provided different services. The Commission concluded that the agreement did not meet the requirements of a single interest enterprise agreement. As a result, the application for approval was dismissed.

The Commission ordered that the application for approval of the My Place Foundation (Inc) Personal Assistants Enterprise Agreement 2015 be dismissed. The decision highlights the importance of ensuring that an enterprise agreement meets the legal requirements for approval, particularly in relation to the definition of a single interest enterprise agreement.

My Place Foundation (Inc.)

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established