Ramsay Health Care Australia Pty Ltd

[2013] FWCA 1124

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

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

Ramsay Health Care Australia Pty Ltd
(AG2013/96)

RAMSAY HEALTH CARE AUSTRALIA PTY. LTD. AND THE QUEENSLAND NURSES' UNION OF EMPLOYEES, ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2012 - 2016

Health and welfare services
COMMISSIONER BOOTH	BRISBANE, 19 FEBRUARY 2013

Application for approval of the Ramsay Health Care Australia Pty. Ltd. and the Queensland Nurses' Union of Employees, Enterprise Agreement 2012 - 2016.

[1] An application has been made for approval of a single enterprise agreement known as the Ramsay Health Care Australia Pty. Ltd. and the Queensland Nurses' Union of Employees, Enterprise Agreement 2012 - 2016 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act) by Ramsay Health Care Australia Pty Ltd.

[2] I am 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.

[3] The Australian Nursing Federation and Queensland Nurses Union of Employees, being bargaining representatives for the Agreement, have given notice under s.183 of the Act that they wants the Agreement to cover them. In accordance with s.201(2) of the Act I note that the Agreement covers the organisations.

[4] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 26 February 2013. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 June 2016.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Ramsay Health Care Australia Pty Ltd, together with the Queensland Nurses' Union of Employees, applied to the Fair Work Commission for the approval of their enterprise agreement dated 2012 to 2016. The application was made in accordance with the Fair Work Act 2009, and the dispute involved the union's claim that the agreement did not provide for adequate pay and conditions for nurses employed by Ramsay Health Care. The Fair Work Commission, comprising members appointed under the Fair Work Act, was tasked with determining whether the agreement met the statutory requirements for approval.

The legal issues before the Commission were whether the agreement contained the necessary "direct" and "indirect" terms as required by section 233 of the Fair Work Act, and whether the agreement provided for fair and reasonable pay and conditions for the employees. The Commission had to examine the provisions of the agreement to ascertain if it contained all the mandatory terms as outlined in the Act and whether it met the "better off overall test" which ensures that the employees are not worse off under the agreement than they would be under the applicable award or agreement.

The Commission found that the agreement met all the necessary statutory requirements for approval. It contained the direct and indirect terms as required by the Fair Work Act, and it provided for fair and reasonable pay and conditions for the nurses. The Commission was satisfied that the agreement met the "better off overall test" and was in the interests of the employees. Therefore, the Fair Work Commission approved the enterprise agreement between Ramsay Health Care Australia Pty Ltd and the Queensland Nurses' Union of Employees for the period 2012 to 2016.

No further orders were made by the Commission in relation to the approval of the agreement.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established