P Mirchandani Pty Ltd T/A Royal Nut Company

[2022] FWCA 1773

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009

s.185—Enterprise agreement

P Mirchandani Pty Ltd T/A Royal Nut Company

(AG2022/1470)

RNC Enterprise Agreement 2022-2025

Food, beverages and tobacco manufacturing industry
COMMISSIONER MATHESON	SYDNEY, 30 MAY 2022

Application for approval of the RNC Enterprise Agreement 2022-2025.

An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the RNC Enterprise Agreement 2022-2025 (Agreement). The application was made by P Mirchandani Pty Ltd T/A Royal Nut Company (Applicant) pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (Act). The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

The Applicant is the employer covered by the Agreement. The name of the employer as stated in the Notice of Employee Representational Rights (NERR) is ‘Royal Nut Company Pty Ltd’. Noting that this is different from the name of the Applicant, the Commission sought submissions addressing this. The ‘Royal Nut Company’ is the trading name of the Applicant. Having considered the submissions of the Applicant, I am satisfied that, pursuant to s.188(2) of the Act, the error in the NERR regarding the employer name is a minor procedural or technical error, that it has not prevented genuine agreement and that the employees covered by the Agreement were not likely to have been disadvantaged by the error.

The Employer has provided written undertakings. A copy of the undertakings is attached at Annexure A of this decision (Undertakings). The views of each person I know is a bargaining representative for the Agreement were sought in relation to the Undertakings and no objections were raised. I am satisfied that the effect of accepting the Undertakings is not likely to:

(a)cause financial detriment to any employee covered by the Agreement; or

(b)result in substantial changes to the Agreement.

Pursuant to s.190(3) of the Act, I accept the Undertakings.

Subject to the Undertakings, and on the basis of the materials before the Commission, I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss.186, 187, 188 and 190 of the Act as are relevant to the application for approval of the Agreement have been met.

The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 6 June 2022. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 March 2025.

COMMISSIONER

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Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

P Mirchandani Pty Ltd, trading as Royal Nut Company, applied to the Fair Work Commission for the approval of the RNC Enterprise Agreement 2022-2025. The Commission was required to determine whether the application met the criteria under the Fair Work Act 2009 for the approval of an enterprise agreement. The key issues before the Commission were whether the application complied with the relevant sections of the Act, and whether the minor procedural error in the employer's name in the Notice of Employee Representational Rights could be overlooked. The Commission also needed to consider the written undertakings provided by the employer and the views of the bargaining representatives.

The Fair Work Commission, in its decision, addressed the discrepancies in the employer's name between the Notice of Employee Representational Rights and the applicant. The Commission found that the error did not prevent genuine agreement and that employees were not likely to be disadvantaged by it. After reviewing the employer's written undertakings and considering the views of the bargaining representatives, the Commission was satisfied that the effect of accepting the undertakings would not cause financial detriment to employees nor result in substantial changes to the Agreement. The Commission accepted the undertakings and determined that the application met all relevant requirements under the Fair Work Act. Consequently, the Agreement was approved and set to operate from 6 June 2022 until 31 March 2025.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established