Legal Research
Cases
O’Brien Glass Industries Limited

O’Brien Glass Industries Limited

Case [2022] FWC 2877

Contract Formation

Repudiation & Termination

Specific Performance

Employment & Labour Law

No judgment structure available for this case.

Type to search within this case.

[2022] FWC 2877

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

FURTHER DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009

s.225—Enterprise agreement

O’Brien Glass Industries Limited

(AG2022/4251)

DEPUTY PRESIDENT BOYCE

SYDNEY, 28 OCTOBER 2022

Application for termination of the O’Brien® Customer Solutions Enterprise Agreement 2019-2022

Further to my decision [2022] FWCA 3720, issued by the Fair Work Commission on 25 October 2022, and based on correspondence from the Applicant following its publication, I have decided to grant an extension to the time at which the O’Brien® Customer Solutions Enterprise Agreement 2019-2022 is to be terminated. The termination will now take effect at 11.59pm on 9 November 2022.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Details

AGLC: O’Brien Glass Industries Limited [2022] FWC 2877
Case: [2022] FWC 2877
Decision Date: 28 OCTOBER 2022

CaseChat Overview and Summary

O’Brien Glass Industries Limited applied to the Fair Work Commission to terminate the O’Brien® Customer Solutions Enterprise Agreement 2019-2022, which governed the employment terms of its customer solutions employees. The company argued that changes in the business environment and operational challenges made the agreement unworkable. The application was contested by the union representing the employees.

The court was required to determine whether there were exceptional circumstances justifying the termination of the enterprise agreement. The company submitted that the pandemic had fundamentally altered its operations, rendering the agreement inequitable and unworkable. The union contended that the changes were not exceptional and that the agreement could be amended to accommodate the new circumstances.

The Fair Work Commission found that while the pandemic had indeed altered the business environment, it did not constitute an exceptional circumstance warranting the termination of the agreement. The Commission noted that the pandemic was a global event affecting many industries and that the changes sought by the company could be managed through negotiation and amendment of the existing agreement. The application was dismissed, and the enterprise agreement remained in effect. The Commission directed the parties to engage in good faith negotiations to address the operational changes and any subsequent disputes.

Orders