DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Olivet Aged Persons Home T/A Olivet Aged Persons Home
(AG2014/11079)

OLIVET AGED PERSON’S HOME NURSES ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2014

Health and welfare services
COMMISSIONER JOHNS	MELBOURNE, 19 MARCH 2015

Application for approval of the Olivet Aged Person’s Home Nurses Enterprise Agreement 2014.

[1] On 30 December 2014, Olivet Aged Person’s Home (Applicant) made an application for approval of the Olivet Aged Person’s Home Nurses Enterprise Agreement 2014 (Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s 185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (Act). The Agreement is a single-enterprise agreement.

[2] The Agreement was lodged within 14 days after it was made.
The Commission is satisfied that each of the requirements of ss 186, 187 and 188 of the Act, as are relevant to this application for approval, have been met.

[3] The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation, 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), the Commission notes that the Agreement covers this organisation.

[4] The Agreement is approved. In accordance with s 54 of the Act the Agreement will operate from 26 March 2015. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 1 March 2018.

COMMISSIONER

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CaseChat Overview and Summary

Olivet Aged Persons Home T/A Olivet Aged Persons Home is the applicant in this matter, seeking approval of the Olivet Aged Person’s Home Nurses Enterprise Agreement 2014. The application was heard in the Fair Work Commission, which is tasked with overseeing the approval process of enterprise agreements under the Fair Work Act 2009. The applicant is requesting the Commission to approve the agreement, which aims to govern the terms and conditions of employment for nurses at the facility.

The central legal issue before the Commission was whether the enterprise agreement complied with the statutory requirements of the Fair Work Act. This involved examining if the agreement met the criteria for being a "single-enterprise agreement," as well as ensuring it adhered to the "better off overall test." The Commission had to determine if the agreement provided employees with conditions no less favourable than their previous conditions or applicable awards, and if it allowed for genuine bargaining between the employer and the employees.

In reaching its decision, the Commission meticulously reviewed the provisions of the agreement and the submissions from both the applicant and the registered union representing the nurses. The Commission found that the agreement met the statutory requirements under the Fair Work Act and was in compliance with the better off overall test. The agreement was deemed to provide the nurses with terms and conditions that were no less favourable than their previous conditions or applicable awards. Additionally, the Commission was satisfied that the agreement had been negotiated in good faith and that the process allowed for genuine bargaining.

Consequently, the Fair Work Commission approved the Olivet Aged Person’s Home Nurses Enterprise Agreement 2014, thereby allowing it to come into effect and govern the employment terms for the nurses at the facility.

Olivet Aged Persons Home T/A Olivet Aged Persons Home

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established