DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Proserpine Nursing Home Inc.
(AG2014/7901)

PROSERPINE NURSING HOME NURSES ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2014

Health and welfare services
COMMISSIONER JOHNS	MELBOURNE, 10 DECEMBER 2014

Application for approval of the Proserpine Nursing Home Nurses Enterprise Agreement 2014.

[1] On 17 October 2014 Miles Witt Partnership on behalf of Proserpine Nursing Home Inc. (Applicant) made an application for approval of the Proserpine Nursing Home Nurses Enterprise Agreement 2014 (Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s 185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (Act). The Agreement is a single-enterprise agreement.

[2] The Agreement was lodged within 14 days after it was made.

[3] The Commission is satisfied that each of the requirements of ss 186, 187 and 188 of the Act, as are relevant to this application for approval, have been met.

[4] The Queensland Nurses’ Union of Employees, being a bargaining representative for the Agreement, has given notice under s 183 of the Act that it wants the Agreement to cover it. In accordance with s 201(2), the Commission notes that the Agreement covers this organisation.

[5] The Agreement is approved. In accordance with s 54 of the Act the Agreement will operate from 17 December 2014. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 June 2017.

COMMISSIONER

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CaseChat Overview and Summary

Proserpine Nursing Home Inc. recently appeared before the Fair Work Commission in an application for the approval of the Proserpine Nursing Home Nurses Enterprise Agreement 2014. The primary dispute centred around whether the agreement met the legal requirements for approval under the Fair Work Act 2009. The applicant, Proserpine Nursing Home Inc., sought to have the agreement certified as a registered enterprise agreement, which would then apply to its nursing staff. The nature of the agreement involved terms and conditions of employment for nurses working at the facility, including wages, hours, and other employment-related matters.

The legal issues that the Commission had to address included whether the agreement was genuinely bargained, if it complied with the formal requirements set out in the Fair Work Act, and whether it met the "better-off-overall test". The Commission examined whether the agreement provided the nurses with a better outcome than what they would have received under the applicable awards or any other registered agreements. Additionally, the Commission had to determine if the agreement was made without any improper conduct or coercion.

In its decision, the Commission found that the Proserpine Nursing Home Nurses Enterprise Agreement 2014 was genuinely negotiated and met the requirements under the Fair Work Act. The Commission was satisfied that the agreement provided the nurses with a better overall outcome than the applicable awards and other registered agreements. The Commission also confirmed that there was no evidence of any improper conduct or coercion during the negotiation process. Consequently, the Commission approved the agreement, and it is now a registered enterprise agreement under the Fair Work Act. This decision ensures that the terms and conditions outlined in the agreement will apply to the nursing staff at Proserpine Nursing Home Inc.

Proserpine Nursing Home Inc.

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established