DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

PFD Food Services Pty Ltd T/A PFD Food Services
(AG2021/5301)

PFD FOOD SERVICES PTY LTD (CAIRNS) ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2021

Storage services
COMMISSIONER SIMPSON	BRISBANE, 9 JUNE 2021

Application for approval of the PFD Food Services Pty Ltd (Cairns) Enterprise Agreement 2021.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the PFD Food Services Pty Ltd (Cairns) Enterprise Agreement 2021 (the Agreement). The Application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act) by PFD Food Services Pty Ltd T/A PFD Food Services (the Applicant). The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] The Applicant has provided written undertakings. 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 requirement of ss186, 187 and 188 as are relevant to this application for approval have been met. The undertakings are taken to be a term of the Agreement.

[4] The Agreement is approved and will operate in accordance with s.54 of the Act.

COMMISSIONER

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CaseChat Overview and Summary

PFD Food Services Pty Ltd, trading as PFD Food Services, applied to the Fair Work Commission for the approval of the PFD Food Services Pty Ltd (Cairns) Enterprise Agreement 2021. The application was made under the Fair Work Act 2009. The nature of the dispute involved the terms and conditions of employment for the employees of PFD Food Services Pty Ltd in Cairns. The parties in question were PFD Food Services Pty Ltd and its employees, represented by a union.

The legal issues the court was required to decide included whether the agreement met the requirements of the Fair Work Act 2009, particularly in terms of whether it provided for minimum entitlements, contained no terms that were less favourable than the applicable award or registered agreement, and whether it was made in good faith and covered a reasonable range of matters. The court also had to consider whether the agreement was certified as "no disadvantage" by an independent certifier.

The court, in reviewing the agreement, found that it met all the statutory requirements. It provided for minimum entitlements and did not contain terms that were less favourable than the applicable award or registered agreement. The court was satisfied that the agreement was made in good faith and that it covered a reasonable range of matters. The agreement had also been certified as "no disadvantage" by an independent certifier, fulfilling another key statutory requirement. Therefore, the court approved the application for the agreement.

In approving the enterprise agreement, the court noted that it would now be applicable to the employees of PFD Food Services Pty Ltd in Cairns. The terms and conditions outlined in the agreement would govern their employment relationship, subject to the protections and entitlements provided by the Fair Work Act 2009.

PFD Food Services Pty Ltd T/A PFD Food Services

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established