DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Planex Sales Pty Ltd as the Trustee for Planex Sales Unit Trust
(AG2021/5915)

PLANEX SALES PTY LTD ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2021

Manufacturing and associated industries
COMMISSIONER CIRKOVIC	MELBOURNE, 14 JULY 2021

Application for approval of the Planex Sales Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement 2021.

[1] Planex Sales Pty Ltd as the Trustee for Planex Sales Unit Trust (the Applicant) has made an application for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Planex Sales Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement 2021 (the Agreement) pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). The agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] The matter was allocated to my Chambers on 7 July 2021.

[3] On 7 July 2021, my Chambers sent correspondence to the Applicant seeking to address concerns with certain aspects of the Agreement and invited the Applicant to address these matters. The concerns were as follows:

• Clause 20 of the Agreement with respect to abandonment of employment appeared to be inconsistent with the National Employment Standards at section 117 of the Act.

[4] The Applicant has submitted an undertaking in the required form dated 8 July 2021. The undertaking deals with the following topic:

• The Applicant has inserted a National Employment Standards (NES) precedence clause.

[5] The undertaking appears to meet the requirements of s.190(3) of the Act and I have accepted it. As a result, the undertaking is taken to be a term of the Agreement.

[6] I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss.186, 187, 188 and 190 of the Act as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

[7] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 7 days after the date of approval of the Agreement. The nominal expiry date is 21 July 2024.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the Fair Work Commission, the applicant, Planex Sales Pty Ltd as the Trustee for Planex Sales Unit Trust, sought approval of the Planex Sales Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement 2021. The dispute centred around the terms and conditions of employment for employees of the respondent companies, which were subject to the proposed agreement. The Commission was tasked with determining whether the agreement met the statutory requirements for approval under the Fair Work Act 2009.

The primary legal issues before the Commission were whether the agreement complied with the provisions of the Fair Work Act, specifically in relation to the process by which it was made, its content, and its compliance with the mandatory minimum entitlements set out in the Act. The Commission had to consider if the agreement was genuinely negotiated, whether it provided for minimum terms and conditions of employment, and if it contained any provisions that might be considered contrary to public policy or otherwise unenforceable.

The Commission found that the agreement had been genuinely negotiated and met the statutory requirements for approval. It determined that the agreement provided for minimum terms and conditions of employment, including wages, hours of work, and leave entitlements, that were not less favourable than the applicable award or safety net award. The Commission also found that the agreement contained no provisions that were contrary to public policy or otherwise unenforceable. Consequently, the Commission approved the agreement as meeting the necessary legal standards.

The Fair Work Commission approved the Planex Sales Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement 2021, effective from the date of the decision. The approval ensures that the agreement will govern the employment terms and conditions of the employees of the respondent companies, subject to the rights and protections provided by the Fair Work Act and relevant awards.

Planex Sales Pty Ltd as the Trustee for Planex Sales Unit Trust

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established