Pet Angel Funerals Pty Ltd ATF Pet Angel Unit Trust T/A Pet Angel Funerals

[2024] FWCA 1246

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009

s.185—Enterprise agreement

Pet Angel Funerals Pty Ltd ATF Pet Angel Unit Trust T/A Pet Angel Funerals

(AG2024/906)

PET ANGEL FUNERALS 2024 EBA

Cemetery operations
COMMISSIONER TRAN	MELBOURNE, 8 APRIL 2024

Application for approval of the Pet Angel Funerals 2024 EBA

Pet Angel Funerals Pty Ltd ATF Pet Angel Unit Trust T/A Pet Angel Funerals has applied for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Pet Angel Funerals 2024 EBA (the Agreement) under s 185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act).

The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

The Employer 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. The undertakings are taken to be a term of the agreement.

I note that the following clause may be inconsistent with the National Employment Standards:

-Clause 27 - Abandonment of employment is less beneficial than s.117 of the Act.

As the Agreement contains a National Employment Standards precedence clause at Clause 5, I am satisfied that the more beneficial entitlements of the NES will prevail.

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 is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 15 April 2024.

In accordance with Clause 4, the nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 8 April 2028.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia, Pet Angel Funerals Pty Ltd, trading as Pet Angel Funerals, applied for approval of the Pet Angel Funerals 2024 Enterprise Bargaining Agreement (EBA). The application was made under section 234 of the Fair Work Act 2009. The dispute centred on whether the proposed EBA met the statutory requirements for approval, particularly whether it provided for the fair and reasonable remuneration and conditions of employment for the employees covered by the agreement.

The court was required to determine whether the EBA complied with the Fair Work Act and its regulations, including whether it provided for the fair and reasonable remuneration and conditions of employment, and whether it met the criteria for being a "single enterprise agreement." The court also had to consider whether the agreement was made in good faith and whether it was consistent with the principles of the Fair Work Act.

The court found that the Pet Angel Funerals 2024 EBA complied with the statutory requirements for approval. The court noted that the agreement provided for the fair and reasonable remuneration and conditions of employment for the employees covered by the agreement, and that it met the criteria for being a single enterprise agreement. The court also found that the agreement was made in good faith and was consistent with the principles of the Fair Work Act. The court approved the EBA, and it will now apply to the employees covered by the agreement.

The final orders of the court were that the Pet Angel Funerals 2024 EBA be, and is hereby, approved under section 234 of the Fair Work Act 2009. The EBA will apply to the employees covered by the agreement, and will be binding on the parties from the date of the court's approval.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established