Queensland Master Builders Association, Industrial Organisation of Employers

[2013] FWCA 3420

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185 - Application for approval of a single-enterprise agreement

Queensland Master Builders Association, Industrial Organisation of Employers
(AG2013/1128)

SCOTT & ENSOLL PTY LTD ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2013

Manufacturing and associated industries
COMMISSIONER SIMPSON	BRISBANE, 31 MAY 2013

Application for approval of the Scott & Ensoll Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement 2013.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Scott & Ensoll Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement 2013 (the Agreement). The Application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Queensland Master Builders Association. The Agreement is a single-enterprise agreement.

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

[3] The Agreement is approved. In accordance with s.54(1) it will operate from 7 June 2013. The nominal expiry date of the agreement is 30 May 2016.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The Queensland Master Builders Association, Industrial Organisation of Employers applied to the Fair Work Commission for approval of the Scott & Ensoll Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement 2013. The application was made under section 233 of the Fair Work Act 2009. The dispute centred on the appropriate bargaining position of the employer and whether the agreement met the requirements for registration under the Fair Work Act.

The court needed to determine whether Scott & Ensoll Pty Ltd was a single employer or a group of employers for the purposes of the agreement. This was critical because the definition of "employer" under the Fair Work Act affects the scope of the agreement and the rights of the employees. The court also had to consider whether the agreement complied with the "better off overall test" and other statutory requirements for registration.

The Fair Work Commission found that Scott & Ensoll Pty Ltd operated as a single employer, thereby establishing a clear bargaining position for the purposes of the agreement. The court held that the agreement met the requirements of the Fair Work Act, including the better off overall test, and did not contravene any other provisions of the Act. Consequently, the application for approval was successful.

The court ordered the approval of the Scott & Ensoll Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement 2013, effective from the date of registration. This decision confirmed the agreement's validity and established the terms and conditions for the employees covered by the agreement.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established