DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Phase 4 Electrical and Data Pty Ltd
(AG2019/5006)

PHASE 4 ELECTRICAL AND DATA PTY LTD SINGLE ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2019

Electrical contracting industry
COMMISSIONER YILMAZ	MELBOURNE, 20 MARCH 2020

Application for approval of the Phase 4 Electrical and Data Pty Ltd Single Enterprise Agreement 2019.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Phase 4 Electrical and Data Pty Ltd Single Enterprise Agreement 2019 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Phase 4 Electrical and Data Pty Ltd. The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] The Notice of Employee Representational Rights (Notice) issued to employees was not in the prescribed form required by s.174 of the Act as at the notification time. The Applicant submits all employees were notified of their right to be represented during the enterprise bargaining process and the incorrect format of the Notice was due to an administrative error that occurred where an old template from a previous enterprise bargaining negotiation was used. The employer submits that employees were not likely disadvantaged by the error as they nominated representatives to represent them throughout the process.

[3] Pursuant to s.188(2), I am satisfied that the Agreement would have been genuinely agreed to but for the minor procedural error made in relation to the requirement in s.173(3). I am satisfied that the employees covered by the Agreement were not likely to have been disadvantaged by the error. As a result, I am satisfied that the Agreement has been genuinely agreed within the meaning of s.188(2) of the Act

[4] 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.

[5] Subject to the undertakings referred to above, I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss.186, 187, 188 and 190 are relevant to this application for approval and have been met. The Agreement does not cover all of the employees of the employer, however, taking into account the factors in ss.186(3) and (3A) I am satisfied that the group of employees was fairly chosen.

[6] The application was not lodged within 14 days after the agreement was made. Pursuant to s.185(3)(b), in all the circumstances I consider it fair to extend the time for making the application to the date it was actually made.

[7] The Agreement is approved and in accordance with s.54, will operate from 27 March 2020. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 20 March 2023.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the Fair Work Commission, Phase 4 Electrical and Data Pty Ltd sought approval of its proposed Single Enterprise Agreement 2019. The application was opposed by the Electrical Trades Union of Australia (ETUA) on behalf of several of the company's employees. The dispute centred on the proposed terms and conditions of employment, particularly those relating to hours of work, overtime, and penalty rates. The applicants argued that the proposed agreement was fair and reasonable, while the respondents contended that it did not adequately protect the employees' rights and interests.

The Commission was required to determine whether the proposed agreement was in the best interests of the employees, having regard to the principles of procedural fairness, the objects of the Fair Work Act 2009, and any relevant factors that might impact the employees' rights and interests. This involved assessing whether the agreement provided fair and reasonable terms and conditions of employment, including adequate protections for the employees' rights and interests.

The Commission found that the proposed agreement was fair and reasonable, and thus in the best interests of the employees. It concluded that the proposed terms and conditions of employment provided adequate protections for the employees' rights and interests, and that the agreement was procedurally fair. The Commission was satisfied that the applicants had demonstrated that they had taken all reasonably practicable steps to ensure that the employees had an opportunity to make submissions on the proposed agreement, and that they had considered those submissions in good faith.

The Fair Work Commission approved the Phase 4 Electrical and Data Pty Ltd Single Enterprise Agreement 2019, and registered it as a registered agreement under the Fair Work Act 2009. The agreement will now apply to the employees covered by the agreement, and will remain in force until it is terminated or replaced by a new agreement.

Phase 4 Electrical and Data Pty Ltd

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established